Thinking Over
by CommonKnowledge
Summary: The appearance of deadly woman in Domino has turned Anzu’s world upside down forcing her to choose betweeen a true past or false future and make another huge choice- Yami or Malik?
1. Default Chapter

Hey guys this is my first 'Yu-Gi-Oh' fic and I really don't know as much as I should about the series as I should so if things are extremely wrong please let me know. I will be using the Japanese names because in my opinion they are easier to work with. Ok so this is in a setting where Battle City has not occurred and therefore Isis or Malik(though I love Malik J ) This is Anzu centered, with a little Yami/Anzu romance on the side. No Mia though-she needs to die in a fire! All right now that that is done and over with lets get onto 'Thinking Over'

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            She stepped out of the taxi and pulled her laptop bag and beat up backpack with her. The driver pulled away quickly, soon becoming lost in rainy the rush hour traffic. The girl, twenty or so watched him go for a moment before setting her gray-green eyes on the nearest hotel. Pushing a strand of rich red hair behind her ear, tucking it into her sunglasses for extra security she began to mumble to her self. "Of all the god forsaken places to be stranded for the next two days. When I get back Benton is dead" she said referring to her supposed travel agent. 'Just goes to show I can only depend on myself' she thought as she entered the modest but comfortable hotel lounge.

            The clerk at the front desk looked up at her with his usual practiced smile. Despite the obvious overcast and rainy day his newest customer wore a pair of sunglasses, well two really, he noticed a second pair hooked securely into her low cut tank top that came to rest above her belly button. She wore low-rise jeans and a chain belt that wrapped around her waist seductively. As she moved toward the check in desk she gave the clerk the impression of some sort of secret agent and he worked quickly to hide the blush that had crept onto his cheeks and the banish the fantasy that had worked its way into his head. "Can I help you?" he managed to choke out simply enough. He nearly jumped when she leaned up against the counter.

            "That depends," she said setting down he lap top carrier and back pack. "Do you have any rooms open here?" 

            "Of course!" He said trying to keep up formalities, acting as if he was on a blind date. He quickly pretended to flip through the directory, head down cast, attempting to look down her shirt. "Alright here you go room 48, I hope you enjoy your stay at Domino Heights hotel. Will you be…" he was caught off when she quickly grabbed the key from his hand. He watched her scoop up her bags and walk away toward the elevator and punch the button. Before getting on she turned back to him, a coy smile on her lips and her sunglasses resting on the end of her nose revealing her eyes.

            "Next time you look down a girl's shirt try being a bit more discrete." She stepped back into the now open elevator and left the clerk to deal with those in the lounge. In truth the boy was slightly correct in her occupation. She was an agent of sorts, traveling the world over performing tasks for her wealthy customers. She mostly acted as a private investigator, solving crimes that couldn't be brought to the publics' or government's attention. She had been in Tokyo only hours earlier leaving after 'clearing up' an incident that connected a wealthy oil fields owner to a drug ring in the city. In truth the man was just a greedy ignorant bastard who thought he could do illegal oil trade into third world Asian countries through the Japanese mafia, however the man's 'sources' saw a moneymaking in the naïve Texan and set him up in a drug ring instead. Stepping off the elevator the girl sighed, she knew the Texan's sources, two faced sons-of-bitches that she had worked with before. But she knew that they weren't stupid enough to mess with her when she needed their 'services'.

             After unloading her things in the traditional two bed western style hotel room the red head flipped open her cell phone and called the one person she cared knew where she was. Her boss/associate answer and immediately complained about the time. After a quick explanation as to her situation they hung up and the girl reached over the bed for her laptop. As she pulled the bag up a manila folder spilled out revealing her identity. Her name was Aurora 'Rory' Waters, age 22, nationality American. Multiple other ids and forged papers were shuffled in with her passport but she ignored them as she stuffed the papers back into the folder and started up the laptop. She used the machine for quite sometime; checking e-mails, keeping up her presence where need be, making information reports for herself, and lists of information on various societies, groups, and governments. She finally did some clean up on the folder, which contained her current cases. She moved two of the cases, her Texan drug issue and a pearl that had gone 'missing' that she located in Kyoto, to storage files and reread the current four she was working on.

 Two additionally files sat in her active case folder, both seemingly lost causes, but Rory never gave up until everything was confirmed. The first was a case that Rory was working on secretly working on for two rich English philanthropists who had lost a good part of their fortunes had been lost in to a supposed humanitarian fund in the Middle East. Rory couldn't confirm it, partially because the case had been old when she took it on, but it seemed the foundation went under with the iron curtain in the 80's. The second case was one that Rory just couldn't get over. It was a missing persons case, something Rory didn't involve herself with unless they were international criminals or something to that effect. Rory had taken the case on four years ago when the little girl would have been eleven and her parents, now divorced but still collectively missing their daughter pleaded with her to take the case. Rory had kept up contact with the girl's father over the four years that she had worked on the case and truly cared about him and his small family. She never told him but she had tracked his daughter's kidnapping to an underground adoption ring but lost track of her afterwards. Now 15, 'No' thought Rory as she checked the date in the file, now 16 the girl's childhood would be coming to an end and time to find her, if she was alive, was running thin.

Rory had no reason to think she could be dead. These types of organizations only made money off of healthy, living kids. Looking over the computer-compiled picture along with the information Rory sighed, "Where are you Tea Gardner?"               

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Alright, that's it for now but school is coming to a crashing end and as a senior I have a lot of stuff to do so if updates are slow…deal with it. Plus I promised to finish 'Broken Arrow' a DBZ story too. Plus there is other stuff I want to work on. So I hope you enjoy. Till next time then…Peace!

                                                            -Star_Chan


	2. TO2

Ok, here we go with the next chapter. Please let me know if you like it, in short…REVIEW! Thanks to those who have read and reviewed and in response to Kassie's request… do you guys want this to be an Anzu/Malik or an Anzu/Yami fic? (though remember that this is slight romance) Unless I get an overwhelming number for Malik or another couple option it will stay A/Y. Alright, with that done lets get going!

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            "You should be thanking your lucky stars that you aren't dead already Benton," Rory said as she descended the steps of the Domino Heights hotel. A mother gave her a stern look but Rory brushed it off. On the other end of her cell phone Benton mumbled some incoherent apologies. "I don't care what damn excuse you're giving me. You knew I had that job in D.C and now Fredrick is giving it to that slut of an agent Cortland! And all because a supposedly 'reliable' travel agent couldn't get me a decent flight home." Rory stepped out of the lounge and onto the crowded Domino City streets and out of the corner of her eye she saw the doorman making crude jesters to her back. "And now I'm stuck in this two bit city," she paused for a moment "you pervert," she said snapping her fingers at the doorman who nearly fell over in surprise. "What the hell is the name of this city?"

"Domino City, miss" he said automatically.   

" You hear that Benton? Some useless city named Domino. What the hell kind of a name is Domino City anyway?" She yelled into the phone as she walked away from the doorman. "You are never, ever, working for me again and you can be sure Fredrick and the others find out about this. Start counting your pennies and look for a new line of work cause you are done with us!" And with that she hung the phone up in a great huff. She couldn't believe all of the rotten luck. The D.C. job was going to be what set her for life, now Cortland was going to take it away from her. 'And retiring early sounded so nice' Rory thought with a sigh. Amanda Cortland was part of an association called 'The Syndication' (AN: yes this is stolen from Cowboy Bebop, but I just stole the name. Rory's association is nothing like that!) which funneled their wealthy clients' cases to specially trained agents. Years ago when Rory had first started in 'the business' as it was known she had belonged to the Syndication. But Rory had hated to work under anyone so she had become a free agent along with her trainer and mentor C. Fredrick. Fredrick still did work for the Syndication, mainly training the new agents and acting as an information source. She knew that about every government would love to get their hands on him; she knew a few were looking for her too.

In a huff she entered a tacky looking dinner and sat grumpily in a booth, not waiting to be sat. Around her kids in multiple school uniforms milled around annoying Rory to no end for some reason. 'Maybe because you were ripped away from that?' a nasty voice in the back of her head reasoned.

"Can I get anything for you miss?" an all too cheery voice asked.

"Coffee, as black as you can make it." Rory said grumpily not bothering to even look up at the waitress. "And today's paper if you have it."

"All right! I'll be back in just a minute."

"Wonderful," Rory muttered under her breath as she walked away. A flash of pink caught Rory's eye as a group of school kids walked by. 'God, poor girl" Rory thought as she observed the group of four. 'On many levels. Who would make pink apart of their school uniforms? Some sort of sick-o. I'd kill myself first. And look at those idiots she's with.' The tall blonde was currently ranking something about doughnuts. 'And what's with the short kid? A little brother or something?' At that point the girl shirked and jumped up and down pointing at an article in the newspaper on the diner's counter. 'Now I know why she is hanging with those rejects,' Rory thought as the waitress placed her coffee and the same paper the girl was reading aloud from at that moment. "Thank you," Rory muttered to the waitress who wandered off to the next table.

 For some reason Rory couldn't take her eyes off of the girl. 'She's familiar,' Rory finally concluded minutes later as the four began to walk out the door. She turned as casually as she could, trying to get a good look at her from around the tall brown haired boy blocking her view. Only one straight on shot of the girl was enough to cause lightning to strike in her mind. 'Tea Gardner!' Rory realized as a shock ran through her body. Training took hold and she calmed down, waving the waitress over. This had happened before but this girl was a near double of the age-enhanced image on her laptop. 

"Refill?" the waitress asked sweetly holding up the coffee pot.

"To go, and quickly" Rory said commandingly. The waitress took note of her client's sudden change in domineer and hurried to the kitchen for a disposable mug. When she returned the girl was waiting impatiently by the door. "One last thing," she said seriously. "The girls' with pink in their uniform," the waitress nodded with understanding "what school is that?"

"Domino Public High" she answered quickly.

"Any idea where that would be?" Rory asked. She had lost sight of the quartet while waiting for her coffee. (AN: Lets face it folks, there is just something that none of us can go without in the morning and coffee is Rory's! I prefer tea, but that's not important now is it? *Silence* Well then…slightly hurt but none the less on with the story!) The waitress shook her head no, disappointed that the little excitement was coming to an end. " No, I don't suppose you would now would you" Rory said slightly perturbed. It took the waitress a moment to realize what she said was demeaning and was about to protest when the girl left abruptly telling her that payment was on the table. Still slightly miffed the waitress went collect the money and was shocked at the amount left. Nearly 100 times the needed amount was left next to a half finished cup of coffee. 'Who was she?' the waitress wondered almost dreamily.

Meanwhile Rory jogged down the street in the direction that she guessed the four had gone in. She was rewarded when she say a white haired boy in the same blue uniform walk through the gates into a three level buildings. 'Perfect!' Rory thought 'I just need to wait a bit and then I'll hack into their computers and get all the information I need. In the meantime,' she looked at the paper tucked firmly in her fist and smiled. Rory quickly found a public library and did some investigative work. "This would have been a lot easier if I had thought to just grab the paper they were looking at," Rory muttered close to an hour later and the list of things the girl could have been so excited about was not very slim. To make matters worse, while speaking Japanese wasn't hard for the American, the reading was slow and difficult for her. Glancing at her watch Rory left the dusty library and made for the school. She wished she had thought to bring her laptop with her but that morning it had just not seemed important. As she approached the school another thought came to mind, she was about to stand out like a dot of whiteout on black paper. 'Damn Japanese schools and their damn uniforms,' Rory thought viciously as she kicked a stone into the road. 

At that point in time a limo pulling up to the school's entrance caught her attention. Her jaw practically dropped when she saw Seto Kiaba step out and walk calmly into the school. "You've got to be kidding me," Rory nearly exclaimed. She had so many clients out for a piece of Kiaba it wasn't even funny. She also knew Kiaba wanted a piece of her after she had 'liberated' a new computer program from his mansion. "Oh well, two birds with one stone then," Rory said smiling. Maybe Domino City wasn't so worthless.

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            Later in the day as the students exited the school in an excited rush, Anzu left with Yugi and the others, oblivious to the fact that Rory was watching her. "It's going to be so great, me as the lead. And then at the end my own solo, in front of anyone!" Anzu said practically jumping up and down. 

            "This show can't come fast enough, maybe then you'll finally shut up about it Anzu," Jou said with mock annoyance. Anzu stuck her tongue out at him.

            "If I have to put up with you talking about Duel Monsters all the time you can deal with me and my dancing for another two weeks!"

            "Kidding! Kidding!" Jou cried in his defense. Yugi, Honda, and Ryou who had joined them laughed at Anzu and Jou's antics. 

            "It really great that you're finally getting recognized Anzu," Ryou said.

            "Thank you Ryou, at least someone appreciates me and my dancing."

            "Don't give us that Anzu. Since have we missed a recital?" Honda asked and Anzu giggled. 

            "I know! I just love giving you guys a hard time sometimes." She glanced at her watch. "I've got to get going guys. But I'll stop by the shop after my lesson if you're still around."

            "Sounds good! See you later Anzu!" Yugi called as Anzu jogged off. She didn't get very far however. Turning to wave back to them she ran head long into a girl of twenty something. "Anzu," Yugi shouted as he and the others ran over to make sure Anzu was ok. By the time they got over to her the stranger had already pulled her to her feet and walked away without another word, slightly bumping Yugi on the way. 

            "You ok Anzu?" Honda asked. Anzu was staring after the girl in what seemed like a mix of dazed wonderment and shock. "Anzu?" he questioned again.

            "Ah yea, fine," Anzu stammered coming out of her trance.

            "You sure? She didn't mess with you or was rude or anything, right?" Jou asked noting the way Anzu was still acting. 

            "Yea I'm fine" Anzu reassured them. "She was just kinda, I don't know cold."

            "Creepy," Yugi agreed. 

            "God now I really am going to be late! See yea guys!" Anzu called running off again. The boys shook their heads.

            "That Anzu, nothing gets her down." Jou muttered. The other three merely nodded. Rory watched them out of the corner of her eye, checking to make sure no one noticed she had taken the boys deck of cards. She didn't think they would but then again you could never be too careful. But sure enough they walked off as if nothing had happened. 'Good Rory thought as she ducked into the school in search of the girl's information. She reviewed the pictures she had just taken on the mini digital camera hidden in her palm. She knew the girl's first name and had a picture, that should be enough. Along with the boys deck in her pocket and the info that Rory knew she was about to get she should have enough to get a positive ID that this 'Anzu' was indeed the Tea Gardner she was looking for.

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            "I just can't believe I lost them!" Yugi said digging through his bag for what must have been the fifteenth time. 

            "No way you could lose anything that important Yug," Jou said turning up couch cushions. Honda and Ryou where in various parts of the room looking as well, all the while Yami was silent. He seemed to be thinking, his cloudy image almost unseen in the fading sunlight. Yugi noticed his other half's silence and approached him on it.

            "You ok Yami?" Yugi asked pretending to search through the drawers that Yami was leaning against. When he didn't respond Yugi looked up at him, innocent purple eyes questioning, "Yami?"

            "I'm fine Yugi," Yami finally spoke. "Its just that I sense something, but I can't quite put my finger on it." The spirit sighed, "It doesn't seem as if the world is at stake or something like that. But I feel that it will effect us all directly." Yugi didn't get a chance to respond because at that moment Anzu came bursting through the back door.

            "Next time Jou, one message on my voice mail will do! Not 27!" Anzu was still dressed in her dance tights and spaghetti strap tank top. She had pulled a pair of jeans over the tights but they poked out at the top and the thick straps of her sports bra were visible through her top. "Now what was so important that I didn't even have time to change?" Anzu asked slightly concerned. The initial shock of Anzu's heated entrance wore off and Jou was on her in a moment.

            "You seen Yugi's deck?" he practically shouted, scant inches from her face. Anzu looked puzzled.

            "No. It's missing? Since when?" She asked looking between Yugi and Jou. She couldn't see Yami leaning on the chest of drawers, watching her intently. Yugi did however and made a note to question him about it later that night.

            "We went to play as soon as we got to the shop, and that's when we noticed it was gone. I checked them right before we left school, so I either dropped them on the way here or somewhere on the way into the house." Yugi told her patiently. 

            "And you didn't stop anywhere since talking to me before we split?" Anzu asked logically. Yugi shook his head 'no'. "Hmm, how odd."

            "If you asked me they weren't lost. They got stolen!" Jou declared. "That creep Kiaba or that slime Duke." (AN: I have no idea how to spell his Japanese name and don't care to attempt. Sorry!)    

            "You're just looking for an excuse to fight either one of them Jou, calm down." Honda advised though he looked as if he might agree.

            " Yea, anyway, we can't go around accusing people until we have any facts anyway," Ryou told them in his usual quite tone.

            "I've got all the facts I need. Kiaba's a desprate stuck up snot and Duke has been sore ever since Yugi beat him at his own game. (AN: Yami and Yugi did win right? I love Duke but never saw the last episode of the matchà I'm such a busy girl!) Plus I rely on a little thing called animal intuition Ryou. Some people just have it stronger than others." Jou bragged, his nose in the air. (AN: Cue sweat drops) 

            " You've got all the intuition of a dead cat Jou." Anzu said tiredly. "Yugi, mind if I get a glass of water? I left my bottle at the studio." Yugi nodded and Anzu walked into the conjoining kitchen. Just then there was a knock at the door and Yugi rushed to answer while Yami kept one eye on the kitchen, one on Yuig.

            "Can I help you?" Yugi asked the woman on the other side of the door. It was odd of get visitors to the house's side street entrance with store's entrance on the main street. She was intimidating and cold, dressed in tight jean caprices and a gray nit top. She wore three pairs of sunglasses; one tucked in her pocket, a second on the top of her head, and a pair covering her eyes. She might have been more attractive, with her rich red hair and inviting figure, if she hadn't initially scared the crap out of Yugi.

            "Is there a Yugi Moto here?" she asked simply. Rory forgot the fact that she should have asked for Moto Yugi, as was proper. She could have kicked herself but kept her composer and hoped that they would take her for tourist or something.

            "I'm him," Yugi answered slightly afraid as to why she wanted to see him. She reached for her purse and Yugi stiffened slightly. He didn't need to look behind him to know that Honda and the others felt the same way. And then much to his surprise as everybody else's she produced his deck. "Where did you get this?" he asked before remembering to say thank you. He stammered out his appreciation while Jou, Honda, and Ryou joined him in inspecting his deck. It all seemed in order. Though she seemed focus on the boys in the living room, from his angle Yami could see what the sunglasses covered. Her eyes were in the kitchen, and on Anzu. 'What the heck is she looking at' Yami thought. And then he felt it, the same foreboding feeling as before, but stronger than ever. 

            "Yugi!" Yami shouted though he knew that only Yugi could hear him. The smaller boy looked back over his shoulder at Yami while the others continued to inspect the deck_._ /Yami?/ Yugi mind spoke. /What's worng?/. "She is what I am feeling, at least I think she is. Whatever the case maybe she needs to leave now. She is inspecting your house much to thoroughly. She must go now." At that moment Anzu walked in with Solomon Moto. 

            "What's all this Yugi?" Solomon asked eyeing the woman with disapproval, which was quite outside his usual character. Anzu too was looking at the woman questioningly. From his position behind the two Yami could see that the woman was looking at Anzu hard again, though she made it appear all her attention was on the boys and the deck.

            "I'm sorry to intrude sir," she said with a slight bow to Solomon. " I found this boy's deck of card outside of the school and thought to return it to him."

            "I thank you for that. The deck is very dear to my grandson, now may I inquire as to who you are." The girl smiled sweetly but Yami could tell it was well practiced.

            "Of course, my name in Ami Kayamori, I'm visiting some relatives for the week." When Solomon didn't respond the girl stayed silent as well. Yami, who could still see her eyes from behind the sunglasses, did not like what he saw.

            " Yugi," he called again. The merest flick of the boy's eyes was all the acknowledgement he needed and Yami took over the boy's body. Anzu noticed the sudden change and wondered why Yugi would be changing with Yami all of the sudden. The truth was the woman did make her slightly apprehensive but not enough that she thought that the spirit's presence was need. "Thank you for returning the deck, but it is getting late and we all must be on our way," Yami spoke as Yugi so all could hear. He nodded towards the door ever so slightly, his violet eyes daring her to challenge him. He was please to note that the girl's attention shifted from Anzu to fully on him. The room waited in silence for the next move.

            Rory was no idiot and saw the boy's sudden change as soon as he spoke. He knew she was up to something else and she made a note to avoid the boy in the future when it came to Tea. The coroner of Rory's mouth turned up in the smallest of a smirk that only she and, what was his name, Yugi, saw. With one last look at the girl that she was now nearly positive was Tea Gardner she turned and walked away without another word. 

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            "Is it just me or was that totally freaky?" Jou asked the moment Yami had shut the door behind the girl. "I mean was anyone else thinking 'The Ring'? She totally creped me out! I mean what was the deal, is it walk into random people's house day or something?" He looked about the room for the answers to the questions he had just asked "Anybody?"

            "All I know is that girl had a hidden agenda for being in here." Honda told them. "I mean who just walks into someone's house like that? Especially off of a side street like Yugi's?"

            "Someone from America" Ryou put in. Everyone, including Yami looked at him puzzlingly. Ryou shrugged, "Wasn't her accent obvious? Totally American, the have totally different customs than us. Same as in England. When I first moved here it took me a while to get used to all of the customs."

            "Anyway it was messed up and I have to get going. Sorry Yugi, no duels today I guess." Yami nodded to Honda who gathered his things. Ryou and Jou followed in suit.

            " Come on Anzu. I'll walk you home," Jou called halfway out of the door. Anzu nodded and grabbed her dance bag and then headed for the door. She was surprised when Yugi grabbed her arm to stop her. 

            "I'll catch up with you Jou, just give me a sec." Anzu called. Seeing what was going on Jou tried to get within hearing distance but Yami closed the door to him. "What's up Yugi? Or should I say Yami?" Her blue eyes studied his own violet eyes as he stared at her intently. In truth it was slightly unnerving. 

            "Did you know her?" he asked suddenly.

            "Who? The red head? No, can't say I do," she tilted her head at his question. "Why? What's up?" He sighed and looked down at her. 

            "It's nothing really. Just be on your guard Anzu," he told her. She smiled sweetly at him.

            "With friends like you and Jou about what else can I be?" As if to prove her point she opened the door resulting in Jou, Honda, and Ryou in a heap on the floor. She giggled as the three eavesdroppers tried to detangle themselves. Yami shook his head disapprovingly as the three bolted for the street. Anzu started after them before Yami stopped her once more. She gave a small gasp when he kissed her in a friendly way on the cheek, but a kiss was a kiss at this point. He smiled at her.

            "Take care Anzu," he told her and bid her goodnight. Meanwhile Rory sat in her room at the Domino Heights hotel and thought. 'Anzu Mazaki and Tea Gardner. They have to be the same! Nearly everything points to this. I just need some solid information. God damn you Benton, it seems you're good for something after all.'

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All Right! That is it for this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get out. I got a really bad cold and the medicine I was taking was knocking me out like every half an hour. Plus I'm in a new shoulder brace that made typing hard to a while. I hope you all liked the second chapter of thinking over! Just to clarify; Rory is looking for a girl name Tea Gardner, another reason to use Japanese names, which is why you hear the dubbed name so much. Well that's it all I can say is if the track had been dry Funny Cide soooo would have won the Belmont!!! Horse Racing fans know what I'm talking about!!!!!!! Till next then!!    


	3. TO3

Sniff, cry, sob! I only got one new review, by the way Kassie thank you. Oh, well I guess reviews aren't that important, but they do encourage me to write and I know how much you guys love it when I write! School is over in two days and I couldn't be happier-this means I can stay up till the wee hours of the morning writing and not feel like crap the next morning. Also voting officially starts with this chapter as to who you want this to be a romance with. I will rewrite chapters if need be, or make it into a triangle type situation cause for now it is a Yami/Anzu romance. Right now the votes are at one for Y/A and one for Y/M. Want anyone else? Let me know. I'll also be asking your opinions on what story to begin next after I really get 'Thinking Over' started. All good then? Ok, enjoy your summer vacations and the third chapter of 'Thinking Over'. 

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            Rory stood outside the Mazaki residence less than twenty-four hours after her encounter at Yugi's house. Since then Rory had been extremely busy reopening the Gardner file. She had called in more 'favors' than she liked to think about in order to get updated information on the six underground adoption agencies she thought might have something to do with Tea's disappearance and had narrowed it down to just three at around 3:30 in the morning. Rory rubbed here eyes, exposed without sunglasses, with a sleepy groan going over the information in she had dug up on the Mazakis. From what she discovered it was a single parent household, the girl Anzu's mother had died of breast cancer when she was nine. Her father, an investment banker with a squeaky-clean record, had raised his daughter on his own since then. 'Squeaky-clean record?' Rory thought again in her head. 'Well besides aiding in kidnapping and illegal adoption.' If Anzu really was in fact Tea, her father and the agency had done well to hide it up. They had moved to Domino recently after the time Rory estimated that it would take little Tea Gardner to get to her new pre-destined home after she was stolen off the playground. Pressing her knuckles to her forehead Rory sighed. Though she knew little about these underground adoption rings she did know that they never randomly took in a kid, it was too risky to hold kids for too long. It was a sickening thought that some parents sold their kids to these agencies, while some stole children for the money. 'But why would Mazaki and his wife want a four year old?' Rory wondered. She had many theories, each more outlandish than the next.

            Sitting on the porch steps to the Mazaki household Rory thought of the perfectly forged birth certificate and other documents in the lock box she had broken into while examining the inside of the two level house. To the untrained eye everything would have seemed fine but Rory had been at the 'game' since she was 16 and knew a few things. The paper used in Anzu's birth certificate was known to have a serious defect in it because of a disease that had struck the trees owned by the paper company that sold paper to the Japanese government. I caused a slight greening of the paper the worsened as years went on; Anzu's looked as if it had come off the printer yesterday. 'It is always the simplest details that give away the biggest mysteries' Rory thought as she watched two girls in a Domino Public High uniform walk by signally the end of school 'You have to watch for everything.' Rory had arranged it so that Anzu would have to come home before going to the dance studio. By hacking into the dance school's computer system Rory had confirmed that if Anzu didn't have rehearsal but common knowledge told her that with a show recital coming up in just over two weeks she would be practicing non stop especially with a free style solo to finish up the performance, again Rory took pride in knowing every detail. 'This isn't going to be easy,' Rory thought fiddling with the sunglasses that hung from her pocket. And as if on cue, as soon as she finished that thought Anzu Mazaki walked up the path.

            Anzu had been in a hurry to get home after realizing that she left she dance shoes at home when she turned to walk up to her house and she saw Rory sitting on her steps. It took Anzu a moment to recognize her from Yugi's the day before and with this recognition she got slightly nervous. Coincidences like this just didn't happen she knew this from experience. "Can I help you?" Anzu trying to look casually around for anyone to help her if she got into any trouble.

            "Actually you can," Rory said trying to sound comforting yet firm at the same time. She had to stay in control of this situation if this was going to work out to her liking. "I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute about something." Anzu looked nervous as Rory stood before her.

            "Um, I don't think so" Anzu said trying to be polite and move around the redhead who had taken a step off the steps towards her. "You know the rule, not supposed to talk to strangers and such" Anzu jumped past her and up her wooden steps toward her door. Rory let her go knowing that trying to grab her out in the open like this would not end well for her. She watched Anzu struggle for the keys nervously when Rory interjected.

            "The door is already open," she turned toward her "I've already been in there." Anzu looked positively terrified. She tested the door and sure enough it was unlocked.

            "Who are you and what do you want?" She asked.

            "Like I said before, all I want to do is talk."

            "About what?"

            "You," Rory told her simply. That took Anzu off guard.

            "What could I possibly have to tell you that you want to know? Now get out of here before I call the cops!" Anzu yelled running inside and trying to slam and lock the door. But she couldn't even shut it. The woman was there, holding it partially open despite Anzu's full weight trying to shut it. 'How did she get up here so fast?' Anzu thought now terrified. As if reading her mind the woman spoke again.

            "Believe me Anzu Mazaki, if I wanted to I would be in this house right now."

            "I don't care! Leave me alone!" Anzu shouted trying once more to shut the door on her. This was just too much, all she had wanted was to get her dance shoes and now she had a psychotic woman on her doorstop.  

            "My name is Rory Waters and I just want to talk to you, ask you a few questions. Is that too much to ask?" Rory told her trying to keep her temper in check.

            "Funny, yesterday I thought you said your name was Ami Kayamori" Anzu shot back. Rory looked thoughtful.

            "Good memory," she admitted hearing Anzu give a hollow laugh. "Like I told you before, if I wanted to be in that house right now I could be," she started pushing the door back a little proving her point, "I'm not armed and I certainly won't hurt you. Now please can we talk like two civilized adults?" Rory felt Anzu's weight move ever so slightly off of the door.

            "What do you want from me," Anzu murmured.

            "Just to talk to you. I've got some questions," she paused "ones I think that you have the only answers to at this point in time."

            "Listen, if this has anything to do with Yugi and the others you should know that when they find out about this you are so dead" Anzu sputtered out thinking that that was the only logical thing that the woman, Rory, could be interested thing. It wouldn't be the first time that this had happened; Battle City was still fresh in her mind. (AN: I know that I said that this was going to take place as if Battle City never happened but if I need to work Malik in than that has to have happened. I don't know all that happens at the end of Battle City, I've heard a couple different versions. So if someone could bring me up to date so my story is somewhat accurate I'd appreciate it!)

            "This has got nothing to do with them. I said I have to ask _you_ some questions. Not those half wit friends of yours." Rory nearly feel in when Anzu pulled the door open suddenly. 'Now that I did not expect,' Rory though looking at a now fuming Anzu.

            " They are not 'half wits' and leave them out of this" Anzu scolded.

            "Fair enough" Rory said putting her heads up. "So is this," she nodded her head toward the now open door "and invite in." Anzu suddenly looked meek again. 

            "You promise you aren't a physco killer or anything like that?" Rory shook her head no. "Ok then come in" Anzu said stepping back to let her in. As Rory brushed past Anzu suddenly thought of how stupid this was and the option of bolting out of the door and screaming for the police seemed very inviting. But Rory seemed to read her thought once more.

            " If you go running I'll just keep coming back. I will talk to you Anzu, even if I have to chase you all around this city. Now why not do it in the comfort of your own home?" Rory gave her a serious look with her gray-green eyes to show her that she was serious. Anzu gave a small 'gulp' before reluctantly closing the door and following Rory into the living room. Anzu stood in silence while Rory pulled a manila folder from the depths of her jacket and through it so it slid across the coffee table to where Anzu stood on the other side. Curiosity over took Anzu and she sat half down on the edge of couch to examine the contents. But before she could open the folder Rory spoke once more. "Tell me Ms. Mazaki, what do you know of a girl named Tea Gardner?" 

            "Tea Gardner?" Anzu asked looking up with her innocent blue eyes. "Never heard of her. Why?"

            "Tea Gardner is now a young woman from Western Connecticut in the U.S who went missing when she was four yeas old, eleven years ago. She was stolen off a play ground while a man pretended to ask her mother for directions, distracting her so the she could be carried off and sold into an underground adoption agency. I have reason to believe that she is in Japan. That is where you come in." By this time Anzu had done the math and looked back up at Rory from across the room.

            "She'd be just a year younger than me. But I already told you I don't know her."

            "Of course you wouldn't, her name was changed of course. And also she'd be sixteen, not fifteen. She just had her birthday a month ago." Rory looked out of the corner of her eye to watch Anzu's reaction to the birth date but the teen kept her face in a mask. "Little brown haired, blue eyed Tea Gardner celebrating her sixteenth birthday away from her real mother and father, sad huh?" She could see that she was starting to get some effect on her now. 

            "What are you imply…" Anzu started, a hand clenched, but was interrupted.

              "Ever wondered why you look nothing like your mother or father Anzu?" Rory asked pretending to inspect a photo. 

            "I look just like my father's mother!" Anzu shot back. Rory smirked.

            "How lucky that all of the photos of her as a girl were lost in that fire all those years ago," she looked at Anzu cockily unable to help herself "just in case you got at all curious." 

            "You need to leave," Anzu said standing. "Now!" But Rory didn't leave she walked over and flipped open the file marked Gardner, Tea in big green letters. 

            "This is a computer aged photo of Tea," she through the print to Anzu "cut the hair short and she is you. You are Tea Gardner!" Silence filled the room as Anzu looked at the photo of herself with longer hair. Her shoulders shook with unknown feelings.

            "You are completely crazy" Anzu told her. She looked up at her with a fury uncommon to her lit in her eyes. "Get out!"

            "You are allergic to peppermint, even the smell of it gives you a head ache. You were terrified of bees as a young child because you were stung on the foot. You," Rory began again but Anzu put her hands to her ears and shouted at her to stop. "I can't Tea,"

            "Anzu" Anzu interrupted. "My name is Anzu Mazaki! Not Tea Gardner! I was born in Japan to my mother Yoko and my father Kenji! And you are wrong."

            "I am very rarely wrong _Anzu_ and I don't think I am this time either. I could list for you every bit of information that I've collected to suggest that you are Tea Gardner. I've had leads like this before but never have I had so much coincidental proof before. But if you'd like I have a very easy way to confirm or disprove everything that I've said. A DNA and fingerprint test would," but Anzu cut her off again.

            "No! I won't because I know that you are wrong!"

            "Or are you scared that I'm right?"

            "But I know that you aren't, so what does it matter?"

            "Because you and the Gardners back in the U.S have a right to know if you are their daughter. You have a right to your true life."

            "I don't want to hear anymore of this" Anzu said storming out of the room.

            "You have a scar on your right knee from when you feel in a pumpkin field" Rroy started again as Anzu stormed past.

            "Its from when I feel off of my bike" Anzu shot back before realizing that she admitted that she even had the scar.

            "You had a habit as a young child of putting spaghetti on your head and couldn't say the hippopotamus to save your life."

            "What are you my stalker or something?" Anzu called slamming the bathroom behind her. It was the first door she came to and at that point in time she only salvation. As she leaned up against the now locked door she heard Rory's steps on the hard wood. "Would you just leave already?" Anzu pleaded through the wood. Silence met her at first and then Rory's cool voice spoke again with no emotion.

            "Alright, I'll leave. But you need to know that this isn't over." Anzu expected to hear her walk away but she spoke again after a moment's silence. "I'm sorry that I had to come into your life like this. If it could have had it any other way I would have. Again I am sorry and I, I" she seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say next "I want to be your friend through this. I left my card on the coffee table. You can always reach me on my cell phone."  The sound of boots on hard wood came next followed by the opening and closing of her front door. And Anzu was left in her bathroom with nothing else to do but cry.

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Hey all!!!!!!!! I wanted to make this chapter longer but decided to get this chapter out instead of making you wait for a longer chapter. I've got my Graduation and Party coming up this week but I have promised myself to get a new chapter out by Tuesday or Wednesday so look for it. Also I've decided to change the genre from general to general/romance because I decided to add a really cute scene in a later chapter. Okie Dokie everyone! Good luck with finals and such and then enjoy your summer. Lots of love always,

                        -Star_Chan          


	4. TO4

Nice to know that at least some people are reading! I've got two votes for Malik and one vote for Yami, but Malik fans I am frankly scratching my head on how to get him included in the story. I have one or two ideas but both don't see Malik in the story until a chapter or two. So I've decided that Malik will be in the story as a love interest and whether she ends up with Yami or Malik will be a surprise. (No Isis though! She freaks me out!!!!!!!)  But remember when I originally thought of this it was ultimately a Yami/Anzu fic. *Star_Chan ducks as her fans, mostly Malik lovers, throw things at her* I'm sorry but while I do love Malik *drool* I had this originally had this as Yami/Anzu story on side of an Anzu centered fic. This is her story people! Malik and the others will just have to take a back seat! But keep your eyes open for my solely Malik/Anzu fic out sometime in late June or early July entitled 'You Wish'. Ok with that said, if anyone is still reading this now that I have left Malik, Yami, and Anzu's fate in the air, enjoy the chapter and REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Tell me what you want!

P.S- I decided to change Rory's age to 25, it'll work out better in my head. Don't worry, you'll see why!

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            By the time that her father returned home that afternoon Anzu had immerged from the bathroom and hidden Rory's card and a few other documents she had left behind for Anzu. The thought crossed her mind that she should through these things out, but she instead hid them under her mattress. Rain lashed against the window that Anzu looked out as her father had a one sided conversations, trying to work around his daughter's unusual silence.

            "So how the dancing going Anzu? You decide on what free style you'll be doing at the end yet?" misinterpreting his daughter's expression he continued. "You don't have to tell me what you chose, I know you want to keep it a surprise. I was just curious if you had decided on one yet." Anzu shook her head 'no' numbly. "Hmm, well you had better decide quick. Two weeks isn't a lot of time to practice." Anzu remained silent, worrying her father. He was about to pry when she finally spoke.

            "I think I'm going to go to Yugi's if that's ok Dad." Her father looked at her puzzled.

            "In this weather?" he asked

            "Yea, I just remember that I had to drop off a part of the science project we were working on. I forgot to drop it off before dance. And since I'm over there I might as well work on it." Anzu said all of this in one breath, unable to look her father in the eyes.

            "Well I guess it would be ok," before he could continue Anzu said her goodbyes, grabbed an umbrella, and was out the door. This left Kenji Mazaki very confused. He had never seen his daughter act like this. Maybe some girl trouble that she just couldn't tell her father? 'It's times like this I really wish you were here Yoko,' Kenji thought to himself. He worried about his daughter sometimes, growing up without a mother and her best friends three very odd teenage boys. It wasn't that he didn't trust his daughter or her choice in friends, but sometimes fatherly concern overrode common sense. It was at that point that he was woken from his thoughts by the telephone. "Hello, Mazaki residence" he answered.

            "Hello Mr. Mazaki. This is Mika Mitsui from Rhythm and Rhyme dance studio. I was wondering if Anzu was there," a friendly voice from the other end of the line responded. Kenji was slightly surprised to be hearing from the studio.

            "No she just stepped out. Anything I can help you with Ms. Mitsui?"

            "We were just wondering if Anzu was alright. She didn't show up today after she reserved a studio. She is usually here everyday before a recital and we just wanted to make sure everything was alright." Kenji was slightly flabbergasted.

            "She didn't show up to the studio today?" he asked, trying to confirm.

            "No she didn't, is everything ok Mr. Mazaki?" 

            "Ah no, I mean yes. Everything is just fine. Just a miscommunication, I'm sure."

            "Ok then. Goodnight Mr. Mazaki," an unconvinced voice told him before hanging up. Kenji shook his head disbelievingly as he too hung up. It was at that point that Anzu hadn't taken anything other than an umbrella before she left.

            "What is going on with you Anzu?" he asked his empty house. Meanwhile the girl in question had taken to walking about the rainy streets of Domino. With her umbrella has her only companion Anzu wandered, a lost and confused girl. What Rory had said couldn't be true, could it? Thoughts of such kind coursed through her body until they were interrupted by the splash of a passing car. Anzu looked down dully at her now soaked socks and shoes, when she caught sight of the scar on her right knee. '_You have a scar on your right knee from when you fell in pumpkin patch.'_ Rory's words echoed through her mind and Anzu took off running, blind to where she was going. When she stopped running minutes later, sides stinging from the speed and severity of the run, she was surprised to find herself in a part of town she usually avoided.

            Anzu hardly ever came to the cemetery that her mother was buried in; there were too many memories here. She knew her father came often, and guilt dug at her for avoiding the grave but at the same time unwavering doubt washed over her too. She shook her head in frustration as Rory's claim ran through her head once more.

            "No," Anzu spoke to the rain and herself. "Mama, was my real mother. Mom and Dad wouldn't kidnap me. I'm there daughter, I have to be." Rory Waters had to be wrong, she just had to be. Umbrella abandon on her mad dash, Anzu shook her wet locks. 

            "Anzu?" a new voice questioned. Anzu didn't recognize the voice at first but after a moment's thought she had it. She pushed herself from the bent over position she had been in trying to recover from her mad dash. Folded up pain released as she stood and faced the newcomer.

            "Malik? Malik Ishtar?" she questioned catching sight of the Egyptian. (AN: I'm so evil aren't I? Making you think to Malik for another two chapters! Hehe-enjoy my gift from me to you!) "What are you doing here?" she asked not waiting for an answer to her first question.

            "I was about to ask you the same thing. You are completely soaked." He moved closer to her so she could stand under his umbrella. Anzu automatically moved half a step back and Malik could hardly blame her. After the way he and his Yami had acted during Battle City he would be surprised if anyone in this city would ever trust him. But a moment later Anzu was beneath the umbrella next to him.

            "Thanks she muttered hugging her arms to her body.

            "No problem, can I walk you home?" he asked. She merely nodded as a response, eyes downcast, watching the sidewalk as she walked. He couldn't help noticing as they walked, her unusual silence and the lack of light in her eyes. "Are you alright?" he finally asked as they turned a corner. "You don't seem yourself."

            "And you presume to know who I am Malik?" she asked coldly, much unlike herself. "I don't even know myself anymore. How could you?" She continued walking, despite the fact that he had stopped walking. Now he knew something was seriously wrong. That was something that his Yami would say, not the Anzu Mazaki that he observed from a far in Battle City. He quickly caught up with her and placed his jacket around her shoulders. The action startled her and she looked up at him in surprise. 

            "You were shivering," he said with a shrug. "Now are you going to tell me what is wrong or do I have to force it out of you?" he asked in a slightly more serious tone than before, because he was dead serious. He had improved a lot since Battle City but still had very little patients for people and Anzu's behavior was starting to get to him. 

            "Burn in hell Malik, you and your damn Yami" Anzu told him throwing his jacket back to him and walking meaningfully past him. She didn't get two steps past him when he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back to him. Before she knew what was happening he had her pinned against the side of a brick building and for the first time since he had found her at the cemetery she was afraid. 

            "You do know that I could kill you right now and not blink an eye."

            "Yugi and Yami would have you so," she started to say the first thing that came to her mind but shut up when Malik chuckled.

            "You think I give a damn about the Pharaoh or his puppet Yugi?"

            "You should," Anzu told him though she was beginning to feel a bit sick to her stomach. "Anyway what does it matter?" she asked him. "Go ahead and kill me, it would make this life a hell of a lot easier." She looked away from him, not trusting her own eyes to look at him. She was surprised once more when she felt his jacket about her once more. She didn't say anything but wrapped the jacket about her shoulders and joined him under the umbrella once more. "Why are you in Domino anyway?" she asked him finally. 

            "For Isis, she wanted me to look over the exhibit she sent over." He heard Anzu mumble an 'oh' in reply. He would have liked to ask her what she was doing out in the pouring rain, by a cemetery, and talking to herself but he decided against it. Anzu too, had many questions she wanted to ask Malik, but she was lost in daze, her mind everywhere but nowhere at the same time. "We're here," Malik said suddenly breaking her out of her train of thought. She looked up saw that they were indeed at her house.

            "Um, thank you" she said as he walked her to the shelter of her porch. He gave a simple shrug of the shoulders in response and began to walk away. "Wait," she called after him. He turned to look at her questioningly from the end of her walkway, waiting for her to speak. "Your jacket," she said taking it off and beginning to walk toward him. He held up a hand to stop her.

            " Keep it for now. I'll get it from you the next time I see you." And with that he disappeared into the rainy streets of Domino city. 'Next time?' Anzu thought holding the now damp jacket to her. As she entered the house she had the first chance to wonder how her knew where she lived.

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            _"Would you like to come with me?" he asked extending his hand out to her. The innocent four year old looked up at him questioningly. She didn't know him, that made him a stranger, and momma had read her enough books about staying away from strangers. 'But', she thought peering around the man, 'Mommy is talking to a stranger too. Maybe it's ok then. Maybe I'm supposed to go with him.' With that thought in mind Tea extended her small hand out to the man who picked her up and quickly walked away. Even in her four-year-old mind, Tea knew this was wrong, so she struggled a bit. She heard her mother scream something, her name, so she struggled a bit harder and the man ran harder. Other people were yelling now, someone screamed the word 'police' and '911'. Those to things clicked in Tea's mind as people that made sure everything was all right. So everything was ok then? Going with this man was ok then? She didn't have another moment to think about it as she was pushed into the back seat of a car and driven away.  _

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            Anzu woke with a start. Cold sweat ran down her face and she felt as if she hadn't breathed in minutes. That dream, that horrible dream. She had dreamt in before, but it seemed like some distant memory. 'That damn woman,' Anzu thought looking glumly at her alarm clock which showed off the time of 5 am. 'No use trying to get back to sleep. Oh joy, I love being up earlier than I have to. Might as well make the best of it.' With that in mind Anzu changed quickly into a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt and strapped on her headphones and diskman. Before going out to run she decided to practice for a bit to make up for yesterday's loss. "Fat chance," she muttered aloud careful not to wake her father. She knew that missing a day of practice, even if it was supposed to be voluntary, was unforgivable in her instructor Mika's eyes. Moving silently down the stairs into her living room Anzu tried to banish all thoughts of Rory from her head. It was difficult to do but after moving furniture out of her way and flipping on her music Anzu became completely lost in her music.

            _Never give up, Never give up_

_            The tide is high but I'm holding on_

_            I'm gonna be your number one_

_            I'm not the kind of girl who gives up just like that _

_            It's not the things you do that tease and hurt me bad_

_But it's the way you do the things you do to me_

_I'm not the kind of girl who gives up just like that_

            _The tide is high but I'm holding on_

_            I'm gonna be your number one_

The song continued on at such a beat and before long Anzu was lost in the peppy rhythm of the music. The song was a part of her usual warm up routine and part of a wide rang of music that Anzu enjoyed listening to. She had picked this song up from walking in on a beginner class. Her friends, particularly Jou and Honda, always blanched when listening to her mix CD's complaining that the mix of American Country, Rap, Pop, and everything in between was just too, well random. But Anzu didn't care; she would like a song no matter what, as long as she could see herself dancing to it or have a story form in her mind, she would listen to it. As if to prove her point, after the poppy Atomic Kitten remake of 'The Tide is High', Eminem's  'Sing for the Moment' blared on her headphones. Anzu just couldn't help laugh at this. Rory Waters was wrong. Only Anzu Mazaki liked such an odd array of music. Only Anzu Mazaki loved dancing and Duel Monsters and had Yugi and the others as best friends. She laughed aloud, not caring if she woke her father as she skipped to Christina Aguilera's 'Dirty'. She was Anzu Mazaki, totally and completely. And nothing, not time, not a manila folder with a computer aged photo, or even an obviously crazy American woman was going to change that.

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            After leaving Anzu's that afternoon Rory had decided to not waste perfectly good time and focus on the other thing that was keeping her in Domino City. Seto Kiaba. She had come across Kiaba personally only once but had met with his predecessor Gozubaro on more occasions than she liked to remember. When Rory was sixteen and first encountered Gozubaro, so early in her career that Fredrick still accompanied her, she and he had nearly killed each other. If Fredrick hadn't happened along Rory wasn't sure she would be here now. Sometimes she wondered if she did want to be there. Pulling out a cigarette, she lit it quickly and took a few quick puffs before throwing it to the ground, snuffing it out, and popping a piece of Nicotine gum. 'Damn dirty hadn't,' she thought 'but quitting is such a bitch.' As she did this the object of her new search pulled into his mansion. The last time that Rory had seen Kiaba had been nearly a year earlier after she had set his Philadelphia plant on fire and stole a top of the line computer program from his home there. Lets just say that she knew the boy would like to tear her limb from limb, the information was irreplaceable. She had made sure of that.

            When the limo exited the mansion once more minutes later Rory could see, despite the tinted windows that Kiaba was now accompanied by his little brother. Rory couldn't help but smile slightly. She had nothing against the kid and actually enjoyed watching the hold he had over his brother. Turning and melting into the crowds Rory made her way back to the Domino Heights hotel. She wasn't even halfway there when her phone rang. She answered it quickly and quietly. "You got me," she said simply.

            "Waters get your dame butt back to the states right now," Fredrick's voice commanded from across the Pacific Ocean and a country.

            "I thought we had finally gotten to the point in our lives that you had come to terms with the fact that you don't have a damn say in my life anymore Fredrick." Rory rubbed her forehead. She knew that Fredrick wasn't dumb enough to forget that she was stuck in Japan.

            "Don't give me a hard time right now Rory," he said tiredly. Now Rory knea something was up, he hardly ever used her first name. "I need you in D.C now! You are the only one I trust besides myself to do this job. Now get on a plane and get the hell back here!" It was an order, but Fredrick's orders no longer held any baring on Rory.

            "Even if I could Fredrick, I wouldn't. I've got some stuff going here that I'm not ready to give up on." 

            "In Domino City? I've looked at map Rory, it's hardly worth the metal used to build it. What could possibly be there?"                            

            "Gardner" Rory told him simply

            "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked obviously losing his patients and composer as he spoke.  

            "Tsk, Tsk, Freddy dear," Rory said mockingly. "Your slipping up in your old age. Used to be nothing got to you."

            "Are you talking about that missing girl that you've been working on the side for a few years? You're telling me that you actually got something on it in Domino?"

            "I think it's her Fredrick". She heard him sigh on the other end.

            "You've that before and have gotten no were. Same story here. Now, after practically beating it out to Benton I got you a flight home. It leaves in three hours."

            "What if I told you I've got Seto Kiaba here as well?" she asked

            "So the elusive genius finally reappears?"

            "Yea, he's keeping a pretty low profile. I don't think anyone on the island realizes how big he is. He goes to public school for god's sake."

            "Rory, I don't want to sound harsh or anything but," he paused and Rory knew what was coming next. "IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE NOW I'M GOING TO PERSONALLY COME OVER THERE AND DRAG YOU BACK!"

            "Try it Fredrick!" she shouted back ducking into an alley so as not to attract as much attention. "We've already established that I don't need you or the Syndication! What else do you have riding on this D.C deal that you're about to have a heart attack over. I'm staying and you can't do a dame thing about it." She finished the last part in a whisper, emphasizing her point. Silence endued on the other end of the line.

            "So that's it, you're going to give this up for a whim and a girl? Well I hope that it is worth it." A dial tone followed and Rory put the phone away slightly dejected. Fredrick was the closest thing to a past she had. She could almost call him family. He was the one who had given her the life she led now. 

            "Damn you Anzu," she cursed to the sky. "You had better be worth it."

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I know! I know! Short and late. You guys wanna kill me go ahead, but I hope you enjoyed it. Lots of love all. Oh and by the way, I do realize that Anzu is a bit OOC but I think that the way I'm depicting her just fits somehow. Anyhoo, Peace!

                                                                                                            -Star_Chan    


	5. TO5

Hehe!! I'm done with High School! I'm done with High School! I'm officially graduated and off to college! Can't wait! Well I don't really have a lot to say so here is chapter five of 'Thinking Over'. Enjoy!

Oh yea! When you see this /words words words/ it is Yugi talking to Yami in his mind. When you Yugi does this 'words words words' he is thinking to himself. And since Yami can't speak unless he is in control of Yugi's body I do not want to bother with the // stuff. He is talking and no one else can hear him. So that is that!  

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            "Hey Anzu" Yugi greeted as the brunette ran up.

            "Morning Yugi," she replied slightly winded from the run she had just made from her house to school. Yugi looked concern.

            "You ok Anzu?" he asked.

            "Yea, I just worked out a little too long and was late leaving the house." She told him frantically trying to dry her still damp hair. She barely had time to towel it off after jumping from the shower and into her school uniform.

            "Eww, so this is sweat?" Jou asked stupidly upon arrival. He stuck his hand onto of Anzu's head with empathies. "Do we need to have a talk about personal hygiene Anzu?" Anzu looked annoyed as she pushed his hand off her head.

            "Grow up Jou!" she fumed. It was at that point that the ten-minute warning bell rang and the masses still outside the gates started to pull inside. It was also at that point that Anzu saw Rory. The she was leaning against the brick wall, sunglasses on but Anzu could tell that she was looking at her. Anzu tried to make it to the other side of the entrance, away from her but the flow of traffic did not allow. 

            "Can we talk?" she asked quietly as Anzu walked past so that only she and Anzu heard. Anzu walked on without responding. Unfortunately for her all three of the guys noticed Rory as the passed by her.

            "Hey wasn't that the girl from the other day?" Honda asked once they were in on the other side of the gate. "You know that one that found Yugi's deck?"

            "Yea I think so," Yug piped in looking up at Anzu "did she say something to you Anzu?" Anzu walked quickly ahead and Yugi could see her hands clenched at her sides.

            "Don't know don't care" she told them simply. All three boys watched her go in wonderment, shocked by their friend's behavior.

            "That was weird" Jou said finally. Yugi and Honda could only nod in response. Later in homeroom as the morning announcements went on Yugi's mind drifted back to Anzu. /Hey Yami?/ he finally asked.

            "Yes Yugi," he spoke clearly in Yugi's mind.

            /Did you notice anything odd with Anzu this morning? /

            "How could I not?" he answered

            /Any ideas as to what's up with her/ Yugi asked. Yami sighed heavily.

            "If I knew what was wrong with a woman every time that they acted strangely I wouldn't be a former Pharaoh. I'd be a god." (AN: After having a conversation with a good friend of mien who we will simply call 'Bob' I realized that the only thing that guys know for certain about girls is that they know nothing at all. Cue sweat drops) But even though their conversation on Anzu had ended Yami couldn't help but think about it. First there was that strange woman who appeared at Yugi's door for the sole purpose of watching Anzu and then there was of course Anzu strange behavior this morning. Yami still had the same foreboding feeling that he had had the day Yugi had lost his deck. Yami frowned at this. The more that he thought about it the more it seemed unlikely that Yugi had actually lost the deck. Too many coincidences were pilling up between the Anzu and the new woman. He concluded later after thinking about it for a time that Anzu might just be feeling the pressure of her upcoming dance recital and that was why she was actin gin such an odd manner. But he just couldn't get the woman out of his head. What connection did she have with Anzu and why did Yami have the awful feeling that everything was about to be turned upside down?

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            "Stop! Stop! Stop! STOP!" Mika *******'s voice rang out across the dance floor. Anzu, who currently about to perform a difficult turn, struggled to right herself before losing her battle with gravity and landed on her side. A few girls giggled while two of the assistant instructors who had been assisting helped her to stand. She smiled weakly in thanks but felt a bush creep on her cheeks. Mika moved across the room from where she had been watching and quietly criticizing. Now she looked as if a storm cloud had broken. She stood in front of Anzu looking at her slightly miffed, but at the same time was obviously concerned. "What's wrong Anzu? The past two days you aren't yourself. First with not coming in yesterday and today you seem like your in another world. Is everything all right?"

            "Umm," she answered nervously looking about the room. Even if she did want to tell Mika about Rory she certainly did not want to talk about it in front of the six other dancers and other two instructors. Luckily for her, she and Mika had been working together for sometime and the older woman seemed to read her thoughts and let out a loud sigh.

            "All right, I guess we'll wrap it up for the day. Things were going pretty well but people," she said with an exaggerated hand movement. "We need better than pretty good. We need fantastic. I want to see you all here at least five out of seven days. If not more! And no taking two days off in a row, that means you Miss Kino." One of the two dirty blondes in the room rolled her eyes as she left. Anzu knew better than to try to leave. Mika wanted to to talk to her in private and Anzu knew that was what she was going to get. As soon as the last assistant instructor had shut the door behind her Mika tuned on her young student. "All right Anzu spill it. What is going on?" Anzu shifted her feet nervously glancing at the wood notes in the polished wooden floor.

            " Nothings going on Mika, just feeling a bit flakier than usual, that's all." The instructor looked at her skeptically. "Seriously," Anzu said in defense " nothing is going on. You don't have to worry."

            "Honestly Anzu?" The stunted nodded firmly and the teacher sighed once more. "You really need to be on your game for this performance Anzu. I chose you for the lead because there are going to be a lot of scouts there. One from the states as well. I've been making a lot of calls on your behalf. That's why I gave you the free style at the end. I want you to really wow them." Anzu looked at her instructor and long time friend with slight shock. She hadn't known that scouts where going to be watching the performance. And one from the states? She felt her mouth go dry and she through her arms around the taller woman in a fumbled hug. 

            "I can't believe it," she said muffled into Mika's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked drawing away from her.

            "I didn't want to stress you or get your hopes up for that matter Anzu. There is a big chance that nothing is going to happen" she told her sternly. Anzu nodded happily in half understanding.

            "I'll do you proud Mika. You'll see! I'll do great and my free style will knock them dead. It'll be the greatest thing I've ever done!" Anzu even stuck her fist in the air for emphatheis  as she spoke and Mika couldn't help but laugh soflty at her sudden change in demeanor.

            "Ok then Anzu? You'll start trying a bit harder?"

            "A bit?" Anzu questioned sounding slightly indignant. "A lot more than a bit. I'll practice twenty- four seven, round the clock." Anzu ranted as she practically skipped out of the studio. Mika smiled to herself as she watched Anzu go. 'Some things never change' she thought.    

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            It was less than ten minutes later when Anzu entered the Game Shop, still in her dance outfit, spirits high. However it only took a few moments for her renewed hype to go crashing to the floor. Yugi, standing behind the counter, along with Jou and Honda who were leaning on the glass were staring with odd expressions at a customer who glances at the shelves causally. Anzu knew the woman all too well, but why would Rory Waters be in a game shop. She knew the answer as soon as it went through her mind and felt her the morning's anger rise up once more. Yugi pulled his eyes off of the red head to acknowledge Anuz.

            "How was dance class Anzu?" he asked. He noticed that she too was giving to woman a hard stare. But besides the questioning look that he and the others were giving her Anzu was looking angry, perturbed, and oddly enough worried. 'Worried?' Yugi thought to himself. 'How odd'.

            "Fine" she answered halfheartedly, earlier enthusiasm lost. "What is she doing here?" she whispered across the glass counter.

            "We were wondering the same thing," Honda answered, still not taking his eyes off of Rory. "Does she freak anybody else out?" Jou nodded but suddenly froze and became very interested across the room. Honda followed suit as Rory suddenly turned toward the counter, a few items in her hands. As usual, sunglasses masked her face, making what she was truly doing a mystery. Anzu stepped around the corner of the counter, putting herself closer to Yugi, and manuvering so the Jou and Honda were between her and Rory. No one seemed to notice, except for Yami who was watching from the solitude of his and Yugi's spirit room. He watched this curiously, the same prickling on the back of his neck, as had been two days ago. 'When that damn woman came here before' he thought grimly. 

            "Can I help you with anything else?" Yugi asked her with the practice politeness he had attained by working in the Game Shop. 

            "This will be all," she said putting the items on the glass counter. Jou and Honda goggled at the items she had chosen. They were some of the rarest items in the shop and she was acting as if they were everyday boxes of tissues. Yugi took notice of her lackadaisical attitude as well and felt himself grimace slightly. His grandfather prided himself and his shop on selling quality items to some of the top players in all games. He didn't feel comfortable selling suck desired items to just anyone. This woman looked as if she had wandered in off the street and decided to pick up some toys for a three year old or something.

            "Are you sure you want these items miss?" Yugi asked suddenly realizing that he disliked this woman, well as much as _he_ could dislike someone. He suddenly noticed Anzu's uneasiness and how she became very interested in her hands, which were folded neatly on the glass countertop. The woman raised a slender red eyebrow above her sunglasses.

            "Is there something wrong with my choices? My nephew loves games like this, I thought that they were good choices." Her voice was sweet like poisoned honey and Jou and Honda felt the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end. Across the glass Anzu glared up through her bangs at Rory. Messing with her was one thing, but messing with her friends was another thing. She was about to say something when Yami took care off it for her. He and Yugi had changed so quickly that everyone was taken a bit off guard. 

            "Actually there is," Yami said answering her question. Only Anzu noticed that Rory paled slightly and found some amusement in this.

            "What do you mean by that?" Rory asked coolly, her act gone. This boy knew something about her; she might as well be herself. He was staring at her hard, and Rory returned the favor by tipping her head down slightly so that he could see her hard gray stare. Neither seemed willing to back down. Rory was very rarely beaten at such things and wasn't willing to be beaten by someone nearly ten years younger than her. And Yami was of course the King of Games and never willing to give up on everything. The match was decided however when Seto Kiaba walked into the game shop, a rarity for him. Accompanying him, a constant shadow, was Mokuba who greeted everyone, completely oblivious to the tension. Rory's eyes quickly swept over the two Kiaba brothers and then gave a look to Yami which clearly said 'this is not over', turned on her heel and brushed past the two Kiabas, her head low and eyes hidden. Both boys looked rather surprises and Mokuba actually stuck her head out of the door, trying to get a better look at her.

            "Was that," Mokuba asked trailing off and looking up at his brother. Kiaba looked abosoutly furious. The look took all members on the game shop, excluding Yami, by surprise and slightly frightened Anzu. She had never seen Seto so furious.

            "Stay here Mokuba," he commanded and swept back out the door. 

            "I guess she really is alive," Mokuba mumbled to himself though the others heard. "I told Seto, and I guess I was right." The boy had a far away look in his eyes and jumped slightly as he seemed to comeback into the present.  "Hey guys, whats up?" he asked with boyhood innocence. Everyone looked at him oddly as he walked over to the counter that they still surrounded. 

            "You know that girl Mokuba?" Jou asked.

            "Sorta," he answered, sounding unsure of himself. Yami watched him from the opposite side of the counter. However half of his attention was still on Anzu who was still watching the door, her face pale.

            "Anzu?" he asked knowing she was the only one who could hear him. She looked at him, suddenly as if he hadn't been standing next to her the whole time. 

            "I'm going to go home and change," she stammered. "I'll be back in a little while." And without a backwards glance she was out the door and walking directly into Seto Kiaba. Through the glass windows the four boys watched as Anzu mumbled assumingly an apology and took off down the street. Kiaba watched her go, a slightly surprised look on his normally impassive face. A moment later he was back in the shop looking murderous once more. 

            "Mokuba, we'll come back another time. I have to go back to the factory." Mokuba looked slightly crestfallen but ran to his brother none the less.

            "Kaiba!" Yami called to him before he could leave the shop completely. The CEO looked at his rival with cool annoyance.

            "Yes?" he asked in what was close to bored drawl, but there was obvious agitation in his voice. Presumably caused by the red haired woman who had suddenly made such an intrusion into all of their lives.

            "Who was the woman Kiaba? You obviously know who she is and it seems she knows you." Yami told him with teetering patience.

            "Yea Kiaba! Spill the beans!" Jou chorused, leaning on the glass.

            "Down boy," Kiaba immediately responded. Honda had to practically drag Jou into the next room to keep him from killing Kiaba. Incoherent shots followed him out and persisted even after the two were out of the room. Yami, meanwhile, continued as if had never happened.

            "Well Kiaba, who is she?" Kiaba gave him a look that clearly said 'why do you think I'm telling you anything' before looking away from the former Pharaoh's stare and caving.

            " If she's the woman I think she is than her name is Rory Waters and she is extremely dangerous." Yami raised an eyebrow and Kiabe continued. "She used to work for a secret society of elite 'secret agents', for lack of a better word, call The Syndication. She is a 'for hire' girl, working for the highest price, with absolutely no loyalties. She'll do anything for a price. Works with rouge and recognized governments as well as the mafia, underground crime circuits, and anything in between. The fact that she is in Domino is a bad sign." Kiaba stared at Yami and Yami felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, though not from his stare but his words. "A very bad sign. Come on Mokuba, we have work to do." With a final wave of goodbye from Mokuba, the Kiaba brothers were off. Moments later Jou ran back into the shop, brandishing something that looked like a chair leg Honda follow with what appeared a black eye. Yugi, replaced with Yami, grimaced recognizing the chair leg.

            "Where is that Ass Hole? I'm going to rip him apart." Jou announced swinging around the shop with the chair leg waving wildly, as if expecting Kiaba to jump from the shadows. Yugi sighed as Jou looked around stupidly.

            "He's gone Jou, now could you please but my great-grandmother's antique rocker back together" Yugi asked the question with obvious restraint, pressing the heal of his hand into his forehead. Jou dropped the chair leg looking aghast. 

            "I… I… I…" he managed to stammer.

            "Come on you idiot," Honda said dragging him and the chair leg back into the privacy of Yugi's home. "I've got to pay you back for this shiner I'm starting to feel." Jou looked positively horrified, but not from Honda. Solomon Moto voice had suddenly boomed through the house.

            "My mother's chair!!!!" he exclaimed quickly followed by "JOU!!!!!!" Once the two were out of the room Yugi turned his thoughts to Yami.

            /Yami?/ he asked and was met with silence. /Yami what do you thing about what is going on? Is this what you felt coming?/

            ' I sincerely hope not Yugi. Evil forces and world dangers I can deal with, but what ever that woman is up do I have the awful feeling I can do nothing about it.'

            /Helplessness is the worst feeling in the world Yami. I doubt you've felt it in a very long time./ Silence followed Yugi's random comment and Yugi knew that she would get no more out of Yami on the subject.

************************************************************************

            Nearly a half and hour later Anzu rejoined her friends who know included Ryou who was dueling with Yugi as Honda watched and Jou worked in the corner to fix the rocker. As she walked in Yugi immediately noticed she still looked a bit frazzled and was press her knuckles into her forehead periodically. "You ok Anuz?" he question while laying a trap.

            "Umm, yeah, just can't see to get rid of this head ache." The truth was that she had run into Rory about a block from her home and she tried to talk to her about her wild accusations again. Rory, it seemed had finally lost her temper with the situation and thrust a large brown envelope at her and walked away muttering something about better uses of her time. The trouble was that it would have been so simple for her to dump the papers, shred them, or simply throw them away. But for some strange reason she just couldn't and they were stored unopened in the bag she currently placed at her feet. Anzu could only explain it as morbid curiosity. While her thoughts wandered on the envelope Yugi successfully beat Ryou.

            "Ohh! Ohh! My turn" Jou practically screamed jumping into the seat that Ryou had suddenly left vacant.

            "What about the chair?" Yugi asked collecting his cards.

            "All fixed in classic Jou craftsmanship." Honda was inspecting the chair by walking around it. Ryou walked over, placed a finger on one of the arms and the chair quickly quivered and both legs fell off. Ryou looked scared/shocked and Yugi just looked ill. 

            "Both legs Jou!" Yugi exclaimed.

            "Well," Jou said looking sheepish "I had to see how it fit in so I took the other one off to see."

            "JOU!" the whole room exclaimed to him.

            "Don't kill him Yugi," Honda said with a sigh "I'll fit it." 

            "Thanks Honda" Yugi said feeling a bit more confident.

            'Yugi' Yami suddenly said in his mind. 'Let me out, I want to duel with Jou. I need to let out some energy.'

            /Sounds good/ Yugi told him. A few minutes later Jou and Yami were going at it while Honda worked on the chair, Anzu half watching the duel, and Ryou watching both Honda's progress and the duel. Seeing Ryou made Anzu think of the previous night and her encounter with Malik. She blushed slightly at the thought of it.

            "Umm Ryou," she said softly trying to catch only his attention.

            "Yea? What's up Anzu?" he asked noting she looked slightly uncomfortable.

            "Have you, well you or Bakura," she said as an after thought "seen or heard from Malik?"

            "WHAT?" Ryou yelped as if being bitten by something. Honda looked up curiously from the chair and the two duelists looked at them curiously.

"What'd you say Anzu?" Jou asked looking over his shoulder at the two. Yami peered around him and looked at the two hard. Had he heard her mention Malik?

"Oh its really nothing," she twisted her hands looking uncomfortable. "I just ran into Malik last night and was wondering if Ryou or Bakura had heard from him." But everything after 'Malik' was lost to everyone but Anzu. Jou had turned about so quickly that he went head over heals in his chair and Yami was a heartbeat away from doing the same thing. Ryou looked a little paler than usual and Honda stood so quickly that he re-broke the leg he had just reattached. "Well really" Anzu said in a quiet huff.

"You've got to be kidding me," Honda said. "He has the nerve to show his face around here after what he did to us at Battle City?" Jou was muttering incoherently and Ryou just looked nervous. Yami looked at Anzu in his usual hard manner. 

"You 'ran into him' Anzu?" Yami asked. Anzu looked a little angry at his tone.

"Yes, I got caught in the rain and he lent me his umbrella. And, and he" she looked nervous once more "he walked me home." It was at that point that the stresses of the day seemed to get to Jou who simply fell back to the ground after detangling himself from the chair. 

"You let that creep come within a mile of you?" he asked from the carpet.

"And if I did? Look he's not a 'creep' as you so eloquently put it Jou. He was a complete gentleman the whole time." 'Well except that moment he threatened to kill me,' Anzu though to herself. "Unlike you four who seem to think that it's ok to yell and interrogate me!" No one moved or made a sound. Anzu finally broke the tension by standing in an angry huff, grabbing her bag, and leaving the room in complete silence. Yami was a step behind her, grabbing the papers and brown envelope that had slipped from her bag in the process. 

"Anzu," he called finally catching up to her on the street outside of the Game Shop. She didn't answer him. "Come on Anzu, don't run away like this." 

"Just go away Yugi," she told him shooting a dirty glance over her shoulder as she went.

"I'm not Yugi," he told her matter of factual. 

"I don't care if you're Yugi, or Yami, or Buddah!" she yelled. "Just leave me alone! Can't anybody grasp the concept of leaving me alone lately? Between you and the others and Rory," Yami cut her off.

"Rory? That damn woman from earlier? I knew it. What does she have to do with you?" he demanded finally reaching out and grabbing her arm. 

"I don't know that woman. I talking about my cousin Rory" Anzu said thinking fast. Yami looked down at her hard.

"I don't believe you for a second"

"Oh well that's just great! I thought you and I were friends. And I hate to be the one to break it to you Yami, but friends believe and trust each other." She would have gone on but Yami stopped her.

"Friends also tell one another the truth. So who is at fault here Anzu? And besides," he said pulling her closer to him "I see us as more than friends." It was at that point that Anzu realized how close together they really were. The tips of their noses couldn't be more than a centimeter apart.

"Yami?" she seemed to question unsure. "What do you," but she was cut off when he pressed his mouth to hers. At any other time she would have loved this moment but for some reason fresh anger flowed through her once more. And the moment that Yami pulled back from her she slapped him with all her might. Yami's head barely tipped from the impact, but a shiny pink spot rose on him cheek and Anzu's hand stung sharply.

" Nice. Very nice," a new voice broke in distracting them. Both turned their heads to look at Malik who looked as if Christmas had come early. "Oh don't mind me," he said, a cocky and sinster grin on his handsom face "please, please continue." Yami's hand was still on Anzu's slim arm and tightened suddenly causing Anzu to grimace slightly.

"What the hell do you want Malik," he asked in controlled anger. He knew that Yugi had forgiven Malik, but Yami still harbored some ill will to the Egyptian. From the look on Malik's face, he felt exactly the same way.        

"Oh nothing," said sticking his hands in his pockets, "just enjoying the show."

"Well go enjoy somewhere else" Yami ordered finally releasing Anzu's arm. "We've are in the middle of something."

"We?" Malik questioned a malevolent smile on his face. "You seem to have lost the other half of your 'we'. Or are you French instead of Egyptian?" (AN: Stupid, stupid joke!!!! I could kill my friend GlowWorm for making me put it in! Damn her to hell! Oh wait, she's standing right behind me….time to run!) Malik grinned at his own joke. Yami turned to watch Anzu walking purposely down the street away from him.

"Anzu!" Yami called out after her. He was about to run after her when he remembered Malik. Turning back to face the pale haired Egyptian he glared once more. "This isn't over Malik," he told him before running off.

"Oh I agree Pharaoh," he said to himself watching his and Anzu's retreating figures. "This isn't over," he licked his lips in anticipation as his thoughts fell to Anzu, "not over by a long shot."  
************************************************************************

With an exasperated breathe Anzu crumpled onto a park bench nearly and hour and a half after her encounter with Yami outside of the Game Shop. Yami had, of course, caught up with her as she stormed off, despite her short quick pace. Surprisingly however he did not speak with her, merely kept stride with her as she navigated her way through the busy streets. She had wanted to say something to him at several points during their pointless pilgrimage and opened her mouth to say something to him, but every time it was as if she had never spoken. Even now she felt words caught in her throat that she wanted to speak but couldn't find the ability to. Finally the silent duo had made their way to Anzu's house where Yami simply handed her the missing papers, envelope included, and bid her a simple goodbye. But he didn't leave, just sat on the railing of her house and stared at her door, though his attention was clearly elsewhere. When he finally left nearly an hour after dropping her off Anzu had bolted for the park. 

Anzu had also had feelings for the spirit, despite not really knowing him until after Battle City. She always attributed to the idea of an actual 'Prince Charming' and the classic childhood fantasy. After all what could be more romantic than a noble and heroic warrior bridging the gaps of time and space to love you? (AN: Ladies? What could be? Possibly Malik standing on my front porch to take me away on his motorcycle. I'm not sure which wins. Can't I have both?) She would daydream in class of Yami returning her unpronounced feelings but she always wondered if he was capable of love beyond the simple and automatic love felt with friendship. Just a few weeks ago she would have traded the world for the kiss that Yami had given her. And she had slapped him.

Cradling her head in her hands, elbows resting on her knees, she wondered what was wrong with her. Possibly the worst part of the whole situation, was that as she watched Yami on her porch from the secrecy of her window she had thought of Malik. She thought of how just the touch of him the night before had sent the same shivers through her body that Yami's kiss had caused. Guilt from her thoughts of Malik, the new turmoil from Yami, and of course the Rory situation all welled inside of Anzu as she sat their alone in the fading afternoon. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours that Anzu was sure her head was going to split. "Why is this happening?" she asked, head still in hands. "What's wrong with me?"

"Well you're talking to yourself for one thing," a new voice piped in.

"Go away Malik," Anzu said tiredly, "I'm in no mood for your Cheshire Cat routine." She rubbed her eyes with the heal of her hand as her approached her from behind, in indeed a very cat like manner.

"You act as if you aren't happy to see me. I thought of all the people in this cursed city that you would accept me."

"At this point in time, I don't Malik. Please go away I," she paused as he sat beside her, " need some space." She finished the last part in a defeated mumble. 

"And risk you worrying your pretty little head to death," she raised in eyebrow which he ignored, "I think not." He stopped for a moment, not daring to look at her. " Besides it is me who is messing up your fairy tale with the Pharaoh. Though I don't see what you see in him" She looked at him indignant and he snorted a laugh. "You don't think that I saw what was in your eyes when you looked at me after I interrupted your moment with the Spirit."

"Don't flatter yourself, you could not be further from my mind," she lied,  "And for your information Yami is possibly the greatest man I have ever met. It would do _you_ some good to take a few pages from his book."  She stood to leave but he grabbed her and spun her to face him. 

"What makes you, for one moment, think that I would want to be anything like that fool?" Malik looked positively frightening and Anzu felt herself stiffen. He smiled at the reaction. "Besides," he spoke smoothly, "why would I need advice from the Pharaoh when it seems that I am doing a perfectly good pursuing you myself." He pulled her close to her suddenly and moved his head toward hers but moments later he was on the park's cement path in a good deal of pain. Anzu had moved quickly to knee him between the legs and then sweep his feet from beneath him. She looked down at his hunched form in anger, blue eyes sparking.

"I've already had that happen to me once today. You think I was going to go through it again?" She asked him this but didn't expect an answer. Indeed, the only response she got was a tiny puff of 'oww'. She stepped over him determinately and stalked down the path towards her home leaving the crumpled Egyptian to deal with himself. She was just around the first turn out of sight when a slight chuckling caught her ears. There Rory stood, seemingly rubbing out a cigarette out with the toe of her boot, still decked out in three pairs of sunglasses, a smile lighting her features.

"I'm impressed," she said eyes smiling over her tortoise shell sunglasses, " and here I was worried you couldn't take care of yourself. I guess I was wrong." Anzu sniffed the air pointedly.

"Cigarettes?" she asked not moving from the older woman.

"Yea, I'm trying to quit," as if to prove her point she popped a piece of gum into her mouth, "horrible habit. I do not recommend it." She said this all with a grin.

"Oh, I'll keep that I mind" Anzu mumbled.

"I was about to go pull that creep off of you but you obviously had the situation in complete control."

"He's not a creep, he's my friend" Anzu scolded.

"Ahh, a friend? Even better" Rory said sarcastically. 

"Listen, do you want something from me?" Anzu asked impatiently. She didn't want to be around when Malik finally got up off the ground.

"Nope," Rory said with a shake of her rich red head, "just going for a walk. Care to join me?"

"Ohh, you are impossible!" Anzu said turning on her heal and stacking away. She could hear Rory's laughter follow her on the path and soon their footsteps fell into sync. They walked together, Rory half a step behind, in comfortable silence until reaching the outlet that led toward Anzu's house. Then Rory spoke.

"Anzu I wanted to apologize. I went about this situation all wrong. I was as clumsy as a twelve year old and didn't really consider that you would probably react like you did." Anzu looked over at her oddly and Rory sighed before continuing. "I've been doing stuff like this for so long and hardly any of my cases have what one might call a happy ending. I've been successful in everything but no one was truly happy as a result of me doing my job. Maybe that's why I took the Gardners' case. I thought it could end happy. I assumed," she swung her head to look at Anzu, "that you would be happy too. It seems that I have assumed too much." They stopped a few houses from Anzu's home and stood for a few minutes in silence. Finally Anzu found her voice and croaked out the question she knew they were both expecting.

"What do you want from me?"

"To try and to think about it. That's it."

"What is there to think about?" Anzu questioned hotly, the long day starting to get to her.

"Anzu," Rory said in a warning.

"No, seriously what is there to think about? I know who I am, I am Anzu Mazaki. And there is no way I could be anybody else."

"Two weeks"

"What?"

"I give you two weeks Anzu, and then I want the answer from you" Rory told her.

"Answer to what may I ask?" Anzu said impatiently. But Rory was already gone, jumping the low garden fences common in her neighborhood.

"Two weeks," Rory repeated holding up two fingers but not facing her, "two weeks."

"You are impossible!" Anzu called. "I never want to see you again!"

"This is going to be a fun two weeks," Rory said to herself on her way to her first visit to Kiaba Corps.             

************************************************************************

I have nothing to say expect that I don't know if Malik is OOC, cause I'm not sure how he acts when not possessed by his evil half. Oh well. And by the way, this chapter is dedicated to Kassie aka Princess of Darkness and me. Thanks for the constant support and reviews. They do help. Ok then, Peace!

                                                                        -Star_Chan


	6. TO6

The first of a series of three explosions rocked Domino City at around 1 o'clock AM. Both Anzu and her father were awoken when the first 'bang' resounded through the night. Before the second expulsion went off Kenji Mazaki was in his daughter's room to check her well being. She was already awake and had thrust open her window for a better view of whatever had caused the explosion. Just as he reached her, the city shook with a second explosion and this time was accompanied by a large plume of smoke. The third and final explosion could only be seen by those at the epicenter but was felt in a low, vibrating rumble the was felt through the city and it's suburbs. 

"What do you think that was Dad?" Anzu asked her father finally acknowledging his presence. The adult looked thoughtful. 

"I'm not sure," he said reaching for the phone only to put it down as soon as it reached his ear, "the phone is dead." He walked to Anzu's bedside lamp and tested the switch. "Power's out too." In the distance sirens whined as they made their way to the site of the explosions. Anzu looked grim as she thought of the well being of her friends, including Malik. At the thought of Malik she bit her lower lip and blushed slightly. Fortunately for her, her father was looking out the window once more. Anzu felt guilty about what had happened in the park earlier that day and hoped that the next time that they say each other that Malik would let her apologize before most likely killing her. Her thoughts on what had happened in the park, Anzu's mind involuntarily fell to Rory. She silently wondered if Rory was okay and where she was. 'And if she's the cause of this,' Anzu thought riley as her eyes and thoughts fell on her father.

'But is he really my father?' a subconscious voice whispered in the back of her head. The doubt was quickly smothered by the reassuring thoughts she had been silently reciting over the past few days. 'There is no way I'm not Anzu Mazaki. And there is no way that this man isn't my father.' As if sensing her discontent her father turned to her. 

"Are you alright Anzu?" he asked eyes concerned.

"Fine Dad, just wondering if Yugi and others were alright" Anzu lied. She felt guilt seep into her once more. How often had she been lying to everyone lately? Yami immediately came to her mind and she felt herself regress once more. Misreading his daughter's facial expressions Kenji Mazaki smiled down at his kind-hearted daughter.

"You are always thinking of others Anzu, don't worry. I'm sure that everyone is alright." As that moment a knock on the door echoed through the house. "I wonder who that could be" Anzu's dad mused to himself. Looking back his daughter once more as he left the room he instructed her to stay and not to worry any more. Anzu listened to his retreating footsteps on the wooden staircase and let her thoughts wander back to Yami. After they had separated on her front porch he had merely sat on her railing staring thoughtfully into the distance. Anzu, meanwhile had stared at him lost in thought. Two completely separate, but at the same time perfectly connected souls, completely enveloping one another's minds. Yami thankfully left just a few minutes before her father had pulled into the driveway, avoiding a very awkward situation. Anzu had to wonder if Yami had sensed her father coming and left on his good sense of judgment. It was entirely possible in Anzu mind and both amazed and chilled her to the core at the same time. How could she be falling in love with such a man? 

'LOVE!' the though echoed through her suddenly very clear mind causing a blush to spread across her face. It was the first time she had even subconsciously thought _that_ word. She emitted a tiny 'eapp' in response. Below her she could hear her father bid whoever had come to the door goodnight and come up the stairs toward her room. He entered looking both relieved and concerned at the same time.

"Well that was city official. Seems that something blew over at Kiaba Corps." Anzu immediately sat up straighter, her thoughts on Mokuba and Seto. "It seems that no one was seriously hurt," he continued not noticing her reaction, "and that power should be back within the hour. Which means," he drew out, "that you have school tomorrow and need to get back to bed." Anzu looked at him numbly. Was he insane? Sleep with all these thoughts running though her head? But sometimes the gods, forces, beings, what have you, that rule over us grant us tokens to ease our lives. This was one of those times and Anzu was asleep before her head ever hit the pillow.

************************************************************************

            Across the city from the Mazaki residence Rory lay staring at the ceiling of her hotel room. She had entered from the back as too avoid suspicion as to the reason she had been out at such a late hour, conveniently after the Kiaba Corps. Complex 2 had blown. A simple crossing of wire in the surveillance cameras disproved any photographic evidence that she had been there, not that anyone in Domino City would think to check it, as Rory figured. She was lying on her back, breathing in the scent of hotel carpet that seemed a common occurrence on any continent. In her mind, as she stared, she accessed the wounds she received that night. Nothing to serious but it could have been. 'Who'd a thought that Kiaba would be so paranoid' Rory thought sitting up. 'Or for that matter have such a stock pile?' The thoughts served to amuse Rory as she attended her most serious wounds.

            "Son of a Bitch," she muttered to the stale hotel air as she laid back down, fabric rubbing into her back. She looked up at the bed and decided that the floor would do for tonight. She smiled to herself before finding sleep. 'Who knew that Domino City would be so much fun' she thought and then slept. 

************************************************************************

            In another part of town, one further from Rory but closer to Anzu, and yet separate from it all Yami sat in deep mediation. In the sanctuary of the Millennium Puzzle Yami sat, undisturbed by the happenings at Kiaba Corps. He did feel the disturbance and his hikari's alertness and spike of curiosity but did not sense danger. Therefore he remained in the confines of the puzzle. He heard Yugi call out to him to join him but Yami simply cut off their mind connection. Now was not a time he wanted to be disturbed. He felt guiltily. This was the second time in less than twenty-four hours that he had cut off their mind link and was more than coy with him. But some things, at least for now, he needed to keep to himself. He wasn't sure if Yugi knew that extent of his feelings for Anzu. He knew that Yugi had a lingering crush Anzu from childhood and wondered if the feelings were still strong. He himself was having a very difficult time with his emotion for Anzu at the moment.

            He had feelings beyond that of friendship for the girl, of that he was certain. He would not deny it, and would be the first defend it. But he worried if Anzu felt the same way, if she was as confused as he was right now. He did not blame her for slapping him earlier, in fact he felt it was somewhat justified. He had put her in a situation that even he was not comfortable with, yet it had seemed the right thing to do. Just being near Anzu was enough for him, just know she was there. Some how her presence was enough to calm, if just for a moment, the constant storm of emotions and memories in his mind and body. The situation was complicated enough on its own with out throwing Malik into the mix. The spirit growled in frustration. If he hadn't like Malik and his yami before now, it was a certainty that he didn't now. He didn't like the way he had looked at Anzu, or furthermore, the way Anzu had looked at him. Yami shook his head in frustration. If one thing was certain, if he had learned nothing from his endless lifetimes, it was simply this. There is no such thing as and easy love.

************************************************************************

            Anzu growled in frustration as the battery powered alarm cloak her father had set up gave off some horrible buzzing/humming noise. After sufficiently beating the clock into silence Anzu rolled over to try and achieve more sleep only to be awakened by her regular clock suddenly coming to life and blaring static. Practically screaming Anzu sat up and ripped the cord out of the fall. Now completely awake Anzu stumbled into her tiny bathroom and set the shower. Memories of the previous night rang through her head and curiosity promoted her to set her shower radio to a local news station. She picked up a news show that seemed to be involving a newscaster in an argument with someone who had called in. "I'm telling you the same thing that I've told everyone else that has called in. I know nothing other than what city officials have told everyone. I…" he was cut off by the caller.

            "I know that you are in with the city council. For that matter the whole country's government! It's all a conspiracy; I've been onto Kiaba Corps for years. The whole government," there was a click accompanied by a groan from one of the newscasters. This was obviously not the first call of this nature that they had gotten this morning. 

            "For the last time," the voice on the radio spoke with obvious control, "we here at NewsBreak know nothing more than that there was a series of explosions at Kiaba Corps Complex Number 2 last night. There were a few injuries reported, but nothing of the critical nature. We have nothing more to report and when we do, we will report it. Now on to today's other news, Himeko." A woman's voice began to tell about a traffic accident in southern Kyoto but Anzu turned the radio off. Thoughts still on the nights events, Anzu prepared for school mechanically. She left her father at the kitchen table, his moves equally mechanical, the lack of sleep obviously getting to him. It took Anzu longer than usual to get to school, caused by her deep thought and the unusual amount of traffic she encountered. It seemed that the explosion had shut off several city blocks resulting in a larger than normal amount of people on the sidewalks. By the time that Anzu got to school she only had a few minutes to get to her locker and walk toward her homeroom. On the way she did run across a scene involving Seto Kiaba being hounded by reporters as he attempted to enter the school. For a brief moment their eyes connected, but Kiaba quickly turned his head and continued on his way to homeroom, which was in fact the same as hers. She followed behind at a much slower pace and watched him enter without a backwards glance. 

'What was that in his eyes?' Anzu wondered as she walked into the classroom. 'Worry? Fear? Both?' she thought sighing as she found her seat. A quick glance concluded that she wasn't that she wasn't the only one having trouble getting to school today. Nearly half the class was missing, including the teacher, and only Ryou out of Yugi, Jou, and Honda were present. Ryou sent her a smile and a wave before setting his head back on the table and dozing once more. Her eyes settled on Kiaba once more who had buried himself in a book. He thoughts returned back to him but she quickly shook them from her mind. 'I've got enough problems of my own without concerning myself with Kiaba, not that he'd even want my help.' It was at that point that the final bell signaling the start of homeroom rang and Yugi burst through the door looking as if he were about to have a heart attack. His eyes, wide and worried, quickly swept the room for the teacher and finding none, he looked extremely relieved. He waved to Anzu who automatically waved back but suddenly was filled with doubt. 'Does he know what happened yesterday? And for that matter, what has Yami told him?' But the boy, if he knew anything of the love triangle brewing, was clearly ignoring it and going about his merry way.

"I was so worried I wasn't going to make it to homeroom on time" Yugi told her as he took his seat kitty corner from her. "Lucky for me the teacher is late to." Anzu let out a relieved breath. She figured if Yugi acted as if nothing was wrong, why should she?

"Did you see Honda or Jou?" Anzu asked. The blonde youth shook his head.

"No, and neither would answer their cell phones. I'm a bit worried about," but what Yugi was worried about Anzu would not know because as if on cue the duo exploded through the closed door, falling on top of one another. Those in the now nearly full classroom watched in wonderment and awe as the two boys made apologizes and excuses to the non-existent teacher. Jou was half way through telling the story about his sick cat when he seemed to realize that there was no teacher. After a quick sweep of the room, Jou shot Anzu and Yugi a goofy grin and poked Honda in the ribs who was going off about pulling a family from a burning building. He looked equally surprised not to see a teacher and grinned sheepishly. Both found their seats quickly, Jou's front row center, and Honda's directly behind Anzu. They didn't sit a moment too soon, as the teacher walked in with a look that dared anyone to make her life difficult. She looked extremely frazzled and slammed her attendance book down with emphasis.

"Sorry I am late class," she practically hissed and Anzu felt herself snap to attention a bit more. " Do to the," she paused, "inconvenience caused last night my cast was damaged and I was forced to find alternate means of transportation." She glared at Kiaba as she spoke and Anzu had to wonder how Kiaba was going to get through the day. The CEO seemed indifferent to the situation and turned the pages of his worn paper back at a leisurely pace. The teacher looked ready to kill and turned her attention to Jou in the front row. "Mr. Katsuya," Jou visibly stiffened, "I believe you were late to homeroom this morning. If that true?" She waited for an answer, tapping her foot impatiently. Jou took an obvious risk answering.

"No?" He replied shyly.

"No is it Mr. Katsuya. Well then perhaps you can tell me why your face is red and you are breathing so heavily." The teacher leaned in close and Jou fidgeted noticeably. 'Poor Jou,' Anzu thought, 'why do the teachers always seem to pick on him? Not that he doesn't deserve it sometimes…. Shut up Anzu! He's your friend.' As Anzu's mind battle finished up Jou seemed to have to come up with an answer.

"Well, aside from being very, very nervous right now I," a few students giggled but were quickly shut up by the teacher's hard glare. 

"Please continue Mr. Katsuya" the teacher beckoned. But Jou didn't have a chance to reply. Anzu did it for him.

"Mrs. Kino," Anzu said giving a slight bow of apology for interrupting, "Jou walked with me to school today. We arrived ten minutes before the bell rang." The teacher looked a little dismayed.

"You are sure of this Ms. Mazaki?" she asked as if to tempt her.

"Oh yes, positive." The teacher seemed a bit disappointed but accepted the answer none the less. From the front row Jou turned and mouth 'Thank You' and Anzu could help but smile back at him. She smiled over at Yugi who had his usual starry-eyed glance when it came to Anzu and friendship while Honda gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulders. At that point in time Yami, Malik, and most importantly Rory were about as far from Anzu's mind as possible. 

***********************************************************************

              "Really weird," Jou commented leaning up against the picnic table the four had chosen for lunch that day. Anzu sat beside Yugi while Honda made himself interested in his school lunch. Jou sat across from Yugi and Anzu and next to Honda. Ryou was no where to be found. "No I mean it is really weird" Jou said again.

            "We know Jou!" Honda snapped back. 

            "But I mean really! Look at him! I've never seen Kiaba so quiet!"

            "Well one of his factories did just explode," Yugi said matter of factually. 

            "It is just so…fascinating," Jou said obviously reveling in the fact that Kiaba was in any discomfort. 

            "You are so _odd_ Jou" Anzu said already tiered of the conversation. 

            "But just look at him," Jou said waving his hand across the open air next to the table, "he looks so lost, and, and." Jou suddenly looked as his he had the greatest thought of twenty life times. Yugi seemed to realize half a second after Jou did and he chocked on his juice box trying to warn him.

            "Don' t you dare Jou," Yugi told him in a raspy, juice still stuck in his throat. Anzu caught on a moment later and grabbed the sleeve of his uniform. 

            "I swear Jou if I even sense you thinking about the word 'puppy' I will personally break my lunch tray over your head." Jou just grinned wolfishly and started to saunter over to where Kiaba sat alone typing on his laptop. Anzu stood in front of Jou and placed her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to deter him. "Come on Jou, think about what a bad idea this is" Anzu pleaded. Jou looked slightly miffed.

            "What your taking care of Kiaba now Anzu? First Malik and now this." Jou immediately regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Anzu looked hurt. 

            "That was unnecessary Jou," Anzu said tears in her eyes and voice. Jou rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

            "I'm sorry Anzu, that wasn't the smartest thing I've ever said and I," but Anzu interrupted him.

            "Stuff Jou, I don't wanna hear it," and with that she quickly gathered her books and left the courtyard that was used for lunch. Jou was about to go after her when a snide voice caught his attention. 

            "Aww trouble with the fantastic four?" Seto Kiaba asked walking onto the scene. Jou looked murderous.

            "Push it Kiaba, I'm just itching to punch that smug pale face of yours in." Kiaba did indeed look smug.

            "Too easy" he said simply and left Yugi and Honda to restrain Jou who was fighting wildly to get at Kiaba. Anzu meanwhile was stuffing her morning class books viciously into her locker. 

            "Remind me to never give you a book as a gift," a silky voice advised from beside her. Anzu jumped a good three feet before turning to face Malik. 

            "What do you want?" Anzu asked as she worked her next period's book out from the mess she had just created. 

            "Just visiting," Malik said leaning into the lockers, "thinking it might be time to pursue some form of education." Anzu faltered for only a moment.

            "Do go here, it sucks" she slammed her locker shut to emphasize the word 'suck'. She stalked over aware that he was following her.

            "You seemed stressed," he observed casually forcing the books she held out of her death grip and carried them himself. 

            "And you're as creepy as ever," she told him trying to regain possession of her books. He stopped and held them up over his head. She jumped and tried to reach the textbooks only to have him lift them higher out of reach. "Malik, you are treading on thin ice. Give me back my books." She was grateful the halls were empty and no one could witness what she was going through. Especially Yugi and the others. 

            "What will you give me for them?" Malik asked smoothly enjoying her distress. 

            "I could kick you like I did yesterday," she told him hands on her hips. The Egyptian looked thoughtful but then seemed to come to some type of conclusion.

            "No, no I wouldn't enjoy that. Now if perhaps you gave me what I was trying to achieve yesterday…" he let the sentence trail off and enjoyed watching Anzu turn all shades of red.

            "Keep the books! It isn't worth that!" Anzu stormed off leaving a generally surprised Malik behind. He caught up to her just as she was about to enter the girls' bathroom.

            "Wait, wait, wait," he commanded softly grabbing her arm with his free hand. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. He was slightly taken aback by this. Why on earth should she be crying? "What's wrong," he asked the obvious question.

            "Trying to make my life a living hell too?" she asked furiously. (AN: I just have to stop her and marvel at what I am writing. If this is a bad life Anzu, I'd love to meet what you consider good. It must be heavenly….Alright I'm done with my ranting. Enjoy the rest of the chapter!) She stared at him icily. He returned the favor.

            "What had happened to you that would change you so much?" he asked her.

            "Change from what?" she shot back. "For all you know I've always been like this, you didn't know me before and you don't know me now."

            "You forget about a little thing called the Millennium Rod? Or did just imagine taking over your mind?" She made a move to slap him but he dropped her books with a clatter and stopped the hand only inched from his face. Now he held both her hands and pulled her roughly toward him. Anzu stumbled over the books and fell into his waiting arms. She looked up at him from the depths of his arm before turning away and mumbling something into his chest. "Come again?" he asked, laughing slightly, enjoying the feel of her warm breath through his shirt.

            "I said," she said pulling her head from him, "that I hate you." Her eyes conveyed that emotion and Malik simply shrugged.

            "I can work around that" She pushed away from him and nearly fell backwards over the books once more.

            "Don't you take anything seriously? Or is everything just some sort of sick game to you?" she asked as he took a step toward her, careful to step over the books. He then proceeded to trap her against the wall, his arms barriers on either side of her neck.

            "Incase you forgot my dear, that incident a little less than a year ago, I took very seriously. In fact, destroying the Pharaoh was and still is possibly the biggest and most _serious_ part of my life."

            "Possibly?" she questioned letting the fact slip by that he just admitted to still trying to kill Yami.

            "Yes, possibly. You rank quite high on that list too my dear" (AN: Shivers ^_^) They were now, scant inches apart from one another and their lips touched for just the shortest of seconds. Moments later they moved in together to deepen the kiss. Anzu felt her heart go light and her head swim, yet she couldn't find a single thought in her head. Her body weight shifted as Malik wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. They stayed this way for mere minutes when their peace was shattered by the call of Anzu's name.

            "Anzu!" Yugi's voice called out across the empty halls. Anzu broke away from Malik's kiss and turned her head slightly to see if Yugi was in sight. Satisfied that he wasn't near she turned back to Malik only to be interrupted once more by Jou and Honda's voices calling for her as well. She giggled slightly and looked up at Malik. He looked slightly perturbed and bent close to her.

            "I could kill them all, and we could," he paused to nuzzle her neck, "continue." Thee words weren't even out of his mouth when Yugi called for her again, this time obviously closer. Anzu sighed and breathed in Malik's scent of Egyptian sands and desert rains.

            "I have to go" she told him reluctantly and pulled away.

            "Anzu," he spoke and she turned to see him. "Your books," he said sounding slightly childish, "don't forget your books." She collected them from his outstretched hand. She muttered a thank you and was about to turn away when he wrapped his arms about her waist once more.

            "This isn't over," he breathed into her ear, causing her to shiver. He released her and she walked away. She hadn't gone more than five steps when she turned to look back at him again. But he was already gone. 
    
    **_I can't believe this moment's come_**
    
    **_It's so incredible that we're alone_**
    
    **_There's so much to be said and done_**
    
    **_It's impossible not to be overcome_**
    
    **_Will you forgive me if I feel this way_**
    
    **_Cause we've just met - tell me that's Ok_**
    
    **_So take this feeling'n make it grow_**
    
    **_Never let it - never let it go_**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_You give me something that I can believe in_**
    
    **_No don't let go of this moment in time_**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_I can't explain the things that I'm feeling_**
    
    **_No don't, no I won't let go_**
    
    **_Now would you mind if I bared my soul_**
    
    **_If I came right out and said you're beautiful_**
    
    **_Cause there's something here I can't explain_**
    
    **_I feel I'm diving into driving rain_**
    
    **_You get my senses running wild_**
    
    **_I can 't resist your sweet, sweet smile_**
    
    **_So take this feeling, make it grow_**
    
    **_Never let it - never let it go_****__**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_You give me something that I can believe in_**
    
    **_No don't let go of this moment in time_**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_I can't explain the things that I'm feeling_**
    
    **_No don't, no I won't let go_**
    
    **_I've been waiting all my life_**
    
    **_To make this moment feel so right_**
    
    **_The feel of you just fills the night_**
    
    **_So come on _**
    
    **_Lets just hold on tight_**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_You give me something that I can believe in_**
    
    **_No don't let go of this moment in time_**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_I can't explain the things that I'm feeling_**
    
    **_No don't, no I won't let go_**
    
    **_Don't let go_**
    
    **_No don't let get_**
    
    **_No I won't let go…._**
    
    ***********************************************************************
    
    Ok peeps, that's it for this chapter. So how much do you all hate me? I have a good excuse!! I have a good excuse!! I started this chapter before I left for my show the week of the 14th. Well while there (I did very well thank you!) I was showing horses for a sales barn as favor for an old friend and to boost my standings Well everything was going great until the horse I was on tossed me at a Liverpool (type of jump with water). No one told me the horse was petrified of water!! Damn you Andrew!!!! Anyway, I landed hard on my elbow and thought I was ok. I rode for the rest of the week, just on my horse mind you and by the end of my last class Sunday, (I fell on Thursday) my elbow was the size of a baseball. Turns out I slightly fractured it (there goes my perfect record of no broken bones!) and hand a sort of mini cast on for the past two weeks. This made writing very difficult cause I had to keep it elevated, yadda yadda yadda. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The song is 'Don't Let Go' performed by Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan off of the 'Spirit' Soundtrack. God I love Bryan Adams. Anyone that's it. I wanted to make this chapter longer but decided to get it out instead. Hopefully a new chapter out very, very, VERY soon. Till then peace!

                                                                        -Star_Chan    


	7. To7

Alrighty, not much to say except I'm surprised that no one has called me earlier on not having a disclaimer. Well I just want to say it is really not an issue because I have about 84 cents to my name right now after paying for the first semester at college. Maybe I'll sell my body to science to pay for second semester… hmm interesting thought. On a second, more serious note 'You Wish' is finally out so enjoy the Anzu/Malik romance. After 'Thinking Over' is done I will be doing one or two of about five ideas that I have. Most likely a Yami/Anzu romance, or I even have a cute Jou/Anzu one buried in my head. Anywho, you'll just have to wait in see. 

            And the vote count will influence the out come of the story but unless I see an overwhelming number on either side, or even better an actual race between the two, I get the deciding vote. So if you wanna see a certain guy win either review your opinion or e-mail me, but make sure you indicate in the subject line you are a reader somehow or I will delete it. 

Disclaimer(Exciting huh?)~ This disclaimer will be used to cover all chapters, past and fore coming, of the story 'Thinking Over'. 'Thinking Over' is merely the result of a very bored senior in suburbia America. I do not plan to profit from it in any way, shape, or form. The characters, excluding Rory and a few others, belong to a group of magna, anime, and gaming companies in Japan. I am in no, way, shape, or form from Japan (though I'm going next year!) and know nothing of the legal formalities of 'Yu-Gi-Oh' on which this fanfic is based. 

(Hehe, you guys like my fancy disclaimer? It is the result of spending many a days answering the phone in my mom's office. I learned a lot of, and I quote, "lawyer talk") 

***********************************************************************

               "Seriously?"

            "Seriously"

            "Are you sure?"

            "Yes"

            "Totally one hundred percent positive?"

            "Nothing in the world could change my mind"

            "But are"

            "JOU!!!!!" Honda suddenly screamed cutting him of. "Would you just shut the hell up! If she wasn't still pissed at you she would be now. Dear God you're annoying!"

            "Honda," Jou said in an abnormally controlled voice, "run. Run as fast and as hard as you can. You have ten seconds."

            "What do you," Honda started but Jou cut him off.

            "One, Two,"

            "Is he serious?" Honda asked no one in particular as he Jou, Yugi, and Anzu excited the school for the day. After obsessively asking Anzu for forgiveness all day Anzu had snapped under the pressure and forgave him as they exited the day's last class. And for the past fifteen minutes Jou had been confirming the sincerity of the pardon, it was enough to drive anyone crazy. 

            "Five, Six," Jou continued. Honda was laughing hysterically making Anzu cringe and wish they were still not on speaking terms. After her 'moment' with Malik Anzu had been too rapped up in thought of it to give any thought to Yugi and the others. When she finally snapped out of her daze all three were begging for forgiveness and Anzu, being the person she is, was obliged to give to them.

            "Penny for your thoughts Anzu?" Yugi asked noting the expression on Anzu's face. 

            "I'm starting to have second thoughts about forgiving Jou. I mean silence is golden and all."

            "Eight, Nine, Ten!" as soon as ten was out of his mouth Jou leapt onto Honda who went toppling over into a group of girls from the year below them. Neither seemed to notice though as they tumbled about on the ground. Anzu sighed heavily and Yugi looked slightly panicked.

"Come on you guys! At least wait until we're off school grounds!" He walked over to the two trying to detangle them as the girls they bumped into watched, looked very miffed.

"Did I miss something?" Ryou asked coming upon the scene. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Anzu commented dryly. She shook her head again and pressed her knuckles to her forehead trying to deter the on coming headache. "Could you do me a favor and tell the guys I went onto dance?" She asked him. 

"Actually I'm on my way out as well. Mind if I join you?" He asked this sweetly and despite Anzu's desire to be alone with her thoughts she just could not say no to Ryou somehow. She nodded in compliance  and the two left together, leaving poor Yugi alone to deal with Jou and Honda who were still in a tangled mess. The two walked in comfortable silence, though Anzu dared not dwell to deep into her mind for fear she might mention something to her white haired companion. He seemed to have something on his mind as well and was obviously struggling with it in his mind. 

"Ryou," Anzu prodded, "are you ok? You seemed to have something very serious on your mind. Anything I can help with?" Ryou looked down into Anzu's cerulean eyes, he wasn't much taller then she was yet always felt small around her.

"I was just thinking about what you said the other day."

"And that would be what?" Anzu questioned. Yesterday's events seemed so far away in her mind and she wondered what he could be dwelling on.

"You asked if me or Bakura had seen Malik," Ryou informed her. 

"Oh, I guess that was kinda stupid of me." Anzu said. She hadn't thought yesterday that Bakura had not been seen since the events of Battle City. She wondered what Ryou must think about that. The tomb robber, was of course in Anzus mind, pretty much as awful as they came for the way he treated Ryou but knew that he, like Yami was to Yugi, a part of Ryou. She couldn't comprehend what it must be like to lose a part of yourself, no matter evil or good. 'But then again,' she thought to herself as the computer image of Tea Gardner came into her minds eye, 'maybe I do.'

"Well the thing is," Ryou said breaking into her thoughts and looking obviously uncomfortable, "he's back."

"Who?" Anzu asked already knowing the answer. 

"Bakura, Bakura's back. That's why I was so shocked when you asked me. I thought you might know." Ryou looked nervous once more. "He just showed up about a week ago, his image came out of the Ring. I haven't seen him since but I know he is there," he pointed to his chest, "inside me again." They were silent for many more moments, both seemed unsure of what to say or do. So they just kept walking on together. Finally Anzu could go no further. She stopped and Ryou turned to look at her.

"What do you want me to do?" Anzu finally got the courage to ask. 

"Do?" Ryou inquired. Anzu nodded, swallowing hard. "Nothing," he said turning away from her, "what can I ask you to do except maybe." He paused in consideration. "Could you keep this a secret between us? I'm not sure how Yami is going to react and I'm not sure I want to know." He turned back and smiled at her. "I know I can trust you Anzu. Because well cause your just a really, well your," he seemed to be struggling with the words and a blush crept up on his cheeks. "You're just really a great person!" he forced out and took off running leaving a positively puzzled Anzu behind.

"Well that was odd," Anzu said to herself watching the boy run off. 'Seems as if everyone is changing lately' Anzu thought as she made her way to the dance studio.

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    _So from my head to toe_
    
    _My mind body and soul_
    
    _I'm taking full control_
    
    _This time_
    
    _So watch me shine_
    
    _Better watch out_
    
    _Going for the knockout_
    
    _And I won't stop_
    
    _Till I'm on top now_
    
    _Not gonna give up_
    
    _Until I get what's mine_
    
    _Better check that_
    
    _I'm about to upset_
    
    _And I'm hot now_
    
    _So you better step back_
    
    _I'm taking over_
    
    _So watch me shine_
    
                   "You'd get more power in the first turn if you used the whole side of your foot instead of just your toe," Mika Mitsui's voice rang out across the polished wood floors and shining glass mirrors, breaking into Anzu's thoughts and the music. Anzu reached over and turned the stereo off and the turned to face her instructor.
    
                   "What was that? I couldn't hear you over the music" Anzu asked.
    
                   "The music or your own thoughts Anzu?" Mika asked knowingly. Anzu gave her a puzzled look in response. The trainer walked over and repositioned Anzu's feet and then stepped back to admire her work. "Try it now," she commanded. Anzu did as she was told and the turn, once a wobbling mess, became a beautiful 360-degree rotation. Anzu smiled at her teacher.
    
                   "Do you always have to be right about everything?" she asked coyly and Mika shrugged. 
    
                   "If I didn't than why would you be paying me? Now will you take advantage of my free counseling services and tell me what is going on." Anzu bit her lower lip.
    
                   "How'd you know?" Anzu asked gazing at the floor.
    
                   "Because six months ago I had you fix that turn. You've been landing it ever since. I know something must be up if it effecting your dancing this much. You haven't acted like this since that Battle Town thingy." Anzu giggled at her instructor's opinion of Battle City. "And don't get me started on when you disappeared for the island tournament thing. You know Anzu," Mika paused and seemed to recollect her thoughts, "your friends have always been a big part of your life, and you dance better for it. I've always understood that. But as of late it as if your friends are causing you more harm than good. But I trust you and your choice of friends and therefore I have come to a conclusion." Anzu waited for what Mika had to say, curious to her opinion on what had changed her lately. "I've decided that something must have changed you and at least one member of this 'group' of yours. Possibly a romantic relationship?" Mika let the words hang in the air waiting for Anzu's reaction. The young girl looked as if she had just swallowed something very hot and had just realized it.
    
                   "I have no idea what you are talking about. Nothing is wrong, nothing has changed." Anzu looked away from Mika, feeling shame from lying. She seemed to be lying so much lately. 'For once it hasn't been Rory's fault' Anzu thought with a small amount of annoyance. She heard Mika sigh before turning away from her once more.
    
                   "I can't force you tell me anything Anzu, but I wish you would." The tone of Mika's voice surprised Anzu who turned in time to watch her instructor shut the door firmly behind her. Anzu rushed after her and came face to face with her in the narrow hallways that led to the studio's various class and practice rooms. Mika had and all knowing look on her face as well as a semi cocky smile. "Took you long enough" Anzu scowled at her.
    
                   "You going to listen to me or merely patronize me?" Anzu asked walking back into the room. Mika followed her bouncily.
    
                   "Can't I have both?" she asked causing Anzu to glare at her. Anzu walked over to the room's stereo and hit it to a certain track. One could talk and dance at the same time of course.          
    
    _I hate you, I love you_
    
    _I just can't remember to forget you_
    
    _Who are you, who needs you_
    
    _You make me feel alive _
    
    _I die so high_
    
    _I'm crawling on the ground _
    
    _And I found I can fly_
    
    _One of these days it all comes together_
    
    _One of those days it goes on forever_
    
    _Think I sound crazy maybe whatever_
    
    _What's it all about_
    
    _Its about life, its about fun_
    
    _Its over before it has begun_
    
    _Its about you, its about me_
    
    _Its about everything between and I say_
    
    _I say goodbye to you_
    
    _I say hi to you_
    
    _Without a clue _
    
    _It's about time that I make up my mind_
    
                   "You see the thing is that," Anzu struggled to say as she found her way into the music, "it's just that." Anzu seemed to have a hard time finding the words and Mika waited in good fashion for her to figure it out. "Let me start this way," Anzu finally said, "there is this guy. Who wasn't really a friend before, at least I didn't think he was a friend." 'I didn't even knew he existed,' Anzu thought to herself. "But ever since _'Battle Town'_," Anzu said mockingly, "we've become really close. And I guess I realized that I had a crush on him." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mika nod.
    
    _ Its simple, confusing _
    
    _The truth is I'm winning but I'm losing_
    
    _I'm pulling and pushing_
    
    _Won't do me any good_
    
    _It could, it should_
    
    _I'm honest to myself that the truth is I lied_
    
    _One of these days it all comes together_
    
    _One of those days it goes on forever_
    
    _Think I sound crazy maybe whatever_
    
    _What's it all about_
    
    _Its about life, its about fun_
    
    _Its over before it has begun_
    
    _Its about you, its about me_
    
    _Its about everything between and I say_
    
    _I say goodbye to you_
    
    _I say hi to you_
    
    _Without a clue _
    
    _It's about time that I make up my mind_
    
                   "Well, I didn't think he felt the same way but apparently, he did. And it wouldn't be a problem if there wasn't someone else." Anzu stopped for a moment so that Mika could absorb all of it. "And this someone else is someone I should hate." Mika snorted a laugh interrupting Anzu's train of thought. 
    
    _Time is creeping behind me_
    
    _Surrounding around me_
    
    _Claiming the words so desperately_
    
    _Now give me a reason that I can believe in_
    
    _Time is something you can't rewind_
    
                   "Sorry but I didn't think that you had the ability to even contemplate hating anyone let alone actually doing it. But sorry," Mika added noting Anzu's expression, "please continue."
    
                   "But this guy I should totally hate, I can't help but feel somewhat attracted to him. It's like he just draws me in. I can't really help myself when I'm around him. But even when my mind is totally on him the other guy is always there in my subconscious. I can't forget about either and feel guilty no matter what I do."
    
    _One of these days it all comes together_
    
    _One of those days it goes on forever_
    
    _Think I sound crazy maybe whatever_
    
    _What's it all about_
    
    _Its about life, its about fun_
    
    _Its over before it has begun_
    
    _Its about you, its about me_
    
    _Its about everything between and I say_
    
    _I say goodbye to you_
    
    _I say hi to you_
    
    _Without a clue _
    
    _It's about time that I make up my mind_
    
    The music came to an end and Anzu looked over her shoulder at Mika who was watching her with an odd expression on in her eyes. She finally spoke. "Who are you and what have you done with Anzu?"
    
                   "Mika," Anzu groaned but Mika looked totally serious.
    
                   "No I'm serious. Just now, that look in your eyes, you looked as if you had seen the whole world in a matter of moments. You looked so tired all of the sudden. This isn't just it is it Anzu?" The brunette didn't answer but looked away slightly flushed. "That's ok Anzu, you don't have to tell me. I understand that what ever your going through you want to get through it yourself." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Mika continued. "But in regards to the problem you presented, I can only tell you what you probably don't want to hear or already know. Just follow your heart. And remember you are young, love doesn't always happen the first time around. I'm a testament to that if nothing else." There was a sadness to Mika's voice and Anzu could sympathize. Nearly everyone at the dance studio knew the story of Mika's fiancé who had committed suicide when Mika told him they had to wait to get married. She told him she had to confirm what love was. The event obviously still ate away at Mika and Anzu felt suddenly a bit stupid for asking Mika for advice on matters of the heart.     
    
                   "Mika I," Anzu started to protest when her teacher rose from her sitting position to walk to the door. The older woman looked back over her shoulder and smiled sadly at her young prodigy, her eyes reflecting the same tired feeling Anzu felt creeping at her insides.
    
                   "Don't Anzu, you did nothing wrong. What kind of teacher am I if I can't listen to my own students' problems without diving into my own?" She had reached the door and had her hand on the knob to turn when she paused for a moment. Anzu waited with baited breath for what she had to say. "Remember Anzu, the whole side of your foot for the turn, not just your toe." Mika smiled at Anzu truly and Anzu returned the favor. However when Anzu was exiting the studio nearly an hour later she walked past Mika who was in a room all by herself, dancing harder than Anzu had seen her do in a long time and Anzu felt a bit of regret for involving her. After her fiancé had committed suicide Mika had given up on her professional dancing career and taken up teaching. Anzu wondered if she ever regretted. 
    
                   'Really makes you take a hard look at your own life' Anzu thought as she exited the dance studio. Her peaceful, melancholy thoughts were interrupted by a now all too familiar.
    
                   "Irony is a funny thing isn't it?" Rory's cool voice quipped from behind Anzu. The brunette whipped her head around, bangs obscuring her view of the older woman for a moment. 
    
                   "What do you want? And what is so ironic?" Anzu asked pushing the hair from her eyesight. Rory gave a low chuckle, barely auditable to the young teen. She took another breath from her freshly lit cigarette before putting in out on the wall she was leaning against. 
    
                   "Well that tells me you didn't read the paperwork I gave you in that envelope yesterday" Rory told her coming off the wall and pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head.
    
                   "Envelope?" Anzu questioned. It took her a moment to remember the brown paper envelope hiding beneath her mattress. Yesterday seemed so long ago. "Oh that thing," Anzu continued getting her bearings back, "I burned it."  Rory raised an eyebrow.
    
                   "Did you then? Well then I guess that I will just have to come by your house again to drop off another copy. Then maybe I will introduce myself to your lovely _father_ and" she would have continued but Anzu cut her off.
    
                   "Enough," she snapped. "What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone!" Anzu shouted at the grey eyed woman who narrowed her eyes in response.
    
                   "I'm trying to be nice here Anzu. Just cooperate and don't test me," Rory hissed looking very frightening. Anzu felt her heart tighten in chest.
    
                   "Anzu!" a voice called not a few feet away. Both women turned to face the new presence and Anzu felt a wave of relief was over her. Yugi, Jou, and Honda, all out of their uniforms were jogging up to were Anzu was standing with Rory. 
    
                   "And the Calvary arrives," Rory quipped and out of the corner of her eye Anzu saw her slip her sunglasses back on. Meanwhile Yugi and the others had arrived. 
    
                   "Anzu you disappeared while these two were fighting," Jou and Honda looked sheepish at Yugi's comment, " and we were worried."
    
                   "Smart girl," Rory put in bringing the four friends' attention to the red head.
    
                   "And just what is she doing here?" Jou asked, hands in fists at his side.
    
                   "She was just leaving," Anzu said meaningfully looking at Rory. 
    
                   "Ahh, you don't have to hide it Anzu. You can let them know." Rory drawled out and Anzu felt her face turn flush. 
    
                   "What are you," Anzu started but Rory cut her off.
    
                   "Lets just tell them Anzu. The truth between us that is," she explained seeing the groups confused looks. Rory whipped off her glasses in a dramatic display and continued. "You see Anzu and I are actually lovers."
    
                   "What!!" Anzu exploded, her face on fire. Yugi, Jou and Honda looked like deer caught in the headlights. "That is not true!" Anzu quickly shouted at them snapping them out of their daze. "She is some weird secret agent private investigator person who won't leave me alone about being someone I'm not!" Anzu felt herself pale as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Her three best friends were looking concerned and confused at the same time. Rory had an odd expression on her face, a mix of remorse and of satisfaction. She placed the stem of her black sunglasses in the corner of her mouth. 
    
                   "Looks like the cat is out of the bag," she said simply. Anzu looked at her tears in her eyes, realizing she had set that up. "Oh cut it out Anzu, it's not like you did anything wrong. Stop it with the lost angel routine." A moment after she said that she had twisted Honda's arm painfully behind his back immobilizing him. The former bully had made a move to grab her, and was now facing a dislocated shoulder for his trouble. 
    
                   "Stop it! Let him go Rory" Aznu commanded. Rory gave a tiny frown of disapproval before thrusting Honda at Jou who was moving to help him in the first place. In doing so, the sleeve of Rory's shirt pushed up, revealing the minor burn marks that she had decided were not worth wrapping. 
    
                   "Burns?" Yugi said out loud without realizing it. He hadn't spoke since Anzu's outburst. Rory smiled coyly at the smaller boy.
    
                   "Yea, I had a small run in at Kiaba Corps last night." The four looked astonished.
    
                   "I knew it was you," Anzu said pointing a finger. "You are the one that blew up that complex last night."
    
                   "Correction, Kiaba blew up his complex last night. I was just 'poking around'."
    
                   "Even if I don't like Kiaba whatever you did was low" Jou spat.
    
                   "Hey it's not my fault that Seto Kiaba has an arsenical larger than most third world countries." Rory shot back. She turned her attention to Anzu, "glad to know you are speaking to me." Anzu looked furious with herself. 
    
                   "Leave Anzu alone!" Yugi protested and Rory stared at him hard.
    
                   "Shut up half pint. Go buy some platform shoes or something." Anzu made cried out in protest but it was Jou that acted first. He moved to hit Rory but ended up a few feet down the sidewalk fighting hard to get the air back in his lungs. Rory had moved so quickly that no one had been able to follow her moves. "Try it again kid. I'm practically trained killer and will not hesitate from making it impossible for you to get up next time." Rory watched as Anzu and the others rushed to check that Jou was ok. "Anzu," Rory commanded and the brunette turned her head to look at her. Rory slipped her glasses on partially and continued to look at Anzu, "remember that cooperation is that key to making this easy on everyone." And then she walked out of sight.
    
    ************************************************************************
    
                   "You wanna explain it?" Jou asked about forty minutes later. They sat at Honda's kitchen, which was closest to where Jou had been knocked flat by Rory. It had taken him a good fifteen to twenty minutes to become fully mobile once more. Anzu had barely uttered a word, not that anybody did. Outside there was the tiny occasionally 'tink' 'tink' as Honda's father worked on his project car for the moment. 
    
                   "What is there to say?" Anzu asked finally seeming to get the words unstuck from her dry throat. Honda looked aggravated.
    
                   "Umm you could try explaining why there is a psychotic woman out there stalking you and attacking your friends! Not to mention," he lowered his voice incase his mother or father were about, "blowing up Kiaba Corps." Yugi looked as uncomfortable as Anzu felt and she felt bad for putting her friends through what she was going through.
    
                   "I," she paused. All three waited with baited breath. "I really don't think that there is anything to talk about. And further more," she said knowing that she had their attention, "if there was anything to talk about, I don't find it necessary to share it with you." She felt a pang in her heart as she spoke but knew that in some ways she was right. They didn't need to know every assorted detail of her life, she was a big girl and could take care of herself.
    
                   "But Anzu," Yugi protested. "We always tell each other our problems. We always help each other. You were there for me in Duelist's Kingdom and Battle City. What is so different about those times and whatever you are going through now?" Yugi questioned. In the back of his subconscious he could feel Yami's irritation with the situation. He had tried to take over when they were out on the street but Yugi hadn't let him. The feelings Yami felt for Anzu were shared by Yugi, though he knew that that dream was impossible. (AN: Poor Yugi!! I notice this a common theme in pro Anzu romance fics. Often times Yami and Anzu's relation is hindered by there common friendship love for Yugi. I should make a Yugi/Anzu fic, but I'll have to say I am not terribly fond of the couple but it is all good.) 
    
                   'They don't know about me and Malik,' Anzu thought almost snidely in her mind and felt guilt for it. 'What is going on with me?' Anzu wondered. Yugi saw her look away from them, arms folded and eyes downcast. 
    
                   "Anzu?" Yugi softly questioned. 
    
                   "I don't want to talk about this Yugi. Whatever is going on with me is going on with me. And right now I am not in a sharing mood." Anzu said this coolly and stood. "Excuse me, I have to be home for dinner."
    
                   "Anzu," Jou called after her as she reached the kitchen door. She looked back at them, tears once held in her eyes now spilling over onto her cheeks. 
    
                   "I'm sorry you guys, but just not right now." And with that she left. 
    
    _All day_
    
    _Staring at the ceiling_
    
    _Making friends with shadows on my wall_
    
    _All night_
    
    _Hearing voices telling me _
    
    _That I should get some sleep_
    
    _Because tomorrow might be good for something_
    
    _Hold on_
    
    _Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown _
    
    _And I don't know why_
    
    _Well I'm not crazy_
    
    _I'm just a little unwell_
    
    _I know right now you can't tell_
    
    _But stay a while and maybe then you'll see_
    
    _A different side of me_
    
    _I'm not crazy_
    
    _I'm just a little impaired_
    
    _I know, right now you don't care_
    
    _But soon enough you're gonna think of me_
    
    _And how I used to be_
    
    _Me, talking to myself in public_
    
    _And dodging glances on the train_
    
    _And I know_
    
    _I know they've all been talking bout me_
    
    _I can hear them whisper_
    
    _And it makes me think that there must be something wrong with me_
    
    _Out of all the hours thinking_
    
    _Somehow I've lost my mind_
    
    _Well I'm not crazy_
    
    _I'm just a little unwell_
    
    _I know right now you can't tell_
    
    _But stay a while and maybe then you'll see_
    
    _A different side of me_
    
    _I'm not crazy_
    
    _I'm just a little impaired_
    
    _I know, right now you don't care_
    
    _But soon enough you're gonna think of me_
    
    _And how I used to be_
    
    _I've been talking in my sleep_
    
    _Pretty soon they'll come to get me_
    
    _Yeah, they're taking me away_
    
    _Well I'm not crazy_
    
    _I'm just a little unwell_
    
    _I know right now you can't tell_
    
    _But stay a while and maybe then you'll see_
    
    _A different side of me_
    
    _I'm not crazy_
    
    _I'm just a little impaired_
    
    _I know, right now you don't care_
    
    _But soon enough you're gonna think of me_
    
    _And how I used to be_
    
    _Yeah, How I used to be_
    
    _How I used to be, yeah_
    
    _Well I'm just a little unwell_
    
    _How I used to be_
    
    _How I used to be_
    
    _I'm just a little unwell_
    
    As she wandered in the late evening light along the streets of Domino Anzu's mind had chance to wonder. And where her thoughts took her frightened her. As a child, like many young girls, Anzu was convinced that she was some sort of princess from some far away land brought to Domino for safety from some fantastically evil enemy. She even had the memories to back them up, or so she thought. Now these memories were fuzzier and more frightening as a sense of foreboding reality set in. She did not want to give Rory's absurd proposal a second thought but she raised many questions in Anzu's once peaceful mind and these questions were eating away into her everyday lifestyle, and worse her friends. Anzu had never been so rude or cold to her best friends ever before as she had been those few hours before. Night was falling when Anzu wandered into the park that wrapped in a 'U' shape around her neighborhood. She wandered close to the spot that Malik had first tried to kiss her and that Rory had approached her again. She took another path not wanting to chance another meeting.     
    
                   When she approached a bench that looked suitable Anzu stopped an pulled a pair of jeans out of her bag and pulled them over her tights to shield her against the cooler night. She also pulled out a sweatshirt and then folded up the now nearly empty bag and set it as a pillow. Despite the fact that it was the earlier months of spring the night was still cool. Anzu was lucky that night that the sky's were clear and showed every star perfectly through the branches of the trees overhead. She thoughts back to those few months before at Battle City when things were normal and she had to laugh at herself. If ancient Egyptian spirits and magic dueling monsters were normal than she must be mental. After laughing out loud for a minute or two Anzu quieted herself and resumed her study of the heavens. She wasn't sure how long she had been out there when the weight on the bench shifted. Sitting balanced on the back of the bench Rory was sipping something hot out a Styrofoam cup and held a second. 
    
                   "Been out here long?" she asked looking at the stars as well. She bent over slightly and handed the other cup to Anzu who was now propped up on her elbows. 
    
                   "What are you my guardian angel or something?" She asked taking the drinking, some sort of vanilla coffee, and sitting up.
    
                   "Far from it," Rory responded, "I'm more like a sort of fallen angel sent from hell to cause you and the rest of the world grief." She said it so easily that Anzu was slightly surprised. Earlier Rory had called her a lost angel and now here she was calling herself a fallen angel. 
    
                   "How do I know that this isn't poison?" Anzu asked pointing at the drink. Rory gave a tiny laugh.
    
                   "I don't collect if you are dead" Rory told her simply. Time passed and the two sat in silence. Anzu was curious as to what was crossing Rory's mind but had her own questions running rampant through her mind.       
    
                   "Rory?" Anzu questioned. Rory gave tiny 'hmm' in response. "Why do you act like this?" 
    
                   "What do you mean?"
    
                   "Well when it is just the two of us you are almost well, likeable."
    
                   "Um, thanks?" Rory said.
    
                   "You know what I mean!" Anzu said slightly frustrated. "Why do you act so rotten around other people?" Anzu stood up off the bench and stood to face her. Rory studied her silently for a moment.
    
                   "I don't like people," she said as simply as saying 'the sky is blue'.
    
                   "And you like me?" Anzu questioned.
    
                   "That's about the gist of it yes." Anzu looked angered. 
    
                   "You are incorrigible!" Anzu yelled at her.
    
                   "Listen Anzu, the truth of the matter is that this is a job. Me liking you had nothing to do with it. I don't like a lot of people, and that unfortunately at the moment includes your friends. Now do me a favor and read the packet that I gave you. It might encourage you to give me and my theory another chance."
    
                   "I don't care about what you or the Gardners have to say. So leave me and my friends alone." Anzu said with defiance. Rory gave a shrug of her shoulders and jumped off the bench. 
    
                   "Your choice, but Anzu," she stared at Anzu hard, "I have never not gotten a job done. You will not be number one." She started to walk away but seemed to change her mind. "FYI, you father and friends are frantically searching for you. You might want let then know that you are still breathing." Anzu watched her go for a moment before stepping after her. 
    
                   "Why do you say it like that?" Anzu asked reaching her. 
    
                   "What do you mean?" Rory said without looking at her.
    
                   "When you told me that my friends were looking for me. You said it like it was something awful." Rory sighed, stopped, and turned to face Anzu.
    
                   "I thought we had concluded without saying anything Anzu that we are two different people."
    
                   "What is that supposed to mean?" Anzu questioned looking up into the older woman's eyes.
    
                   "It is my personal opinion that attachments such as those you seem prone to have are a weakness."
    
                   "That's not true! Having friends and loved ones make you work stronger and harder. They give you strength and the courage that you don't have to go on" Anzu preached and Rory chuckled slightly.
    
                   "I will admit that having someone you love as an inspiration to from is a strength. But what about the other way around?" Rory asked and Anzu looked confused. "Think about it. Right now your father and friends are searching for you, fearing the worst and hoping for the best. What is that doing to them?" Anzu cast her eyes downward feeling a weight on her heart. "You see," Rory continued, "it goes both ways. The courage you draw from them is strength from their hearts. I just can't do that in good conscious."
    
                   "How can you think like that?" Anzu asked feeling her heart break. She knew of Seto Kiaba who just didn't believe in friendship at all but here was Rory. A confident, able young woman who believed in friendship but saw it as an unfair, unattainable goal. Like Sisyphus who rolled the stone up the hill, it was just out of reach.
    
                   "Don't be like that Anzu" Rory said breaking into her thoughts. "I am who I am, if I wanted to change I would. But this is the person I have chosen to be."
    
                   "I won't accept that!" Anzu shouted as Rory moved to walk away. Rory stopped and smiled smugly back at her. "Now you know why I won't give up on you. We are even and now you can't get rid of me." Anzu looked positively flabbergasted.
    
                   "You are an awful, awful woman Rory! You hear me!" But Rory had already walked off and was humming some tune. "And you leave the Kiaba's alone!" she added and Rory stopped. 
    
                   "Now that is my business and I'd kindly ask you to keep out of it," Rory said sweetly. 
    
                   "You are one to talk. 'Stay out of people's business' my foot! Is your one mission in life to irritate me to no end?" Anzu questioned.  Rory looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.
    
                   "You should go home, it is late and you have school tomorrow." Anzu looked as if she might explode and Rory took that as a cue to leave. When Anzu arrived home a half an hour later she found the house empty, silent, and dark. Moving inside, turned on a few lights, and called her father's cell phone. Somewhere in the house Anzu heard the 1812 Overture and knew that her father had not brought it with him. She thought for a moment of trying Yugi's or the other guys phone but decided against it. She didn't feel much like talking to anyone right now. So instead she curled up on the couch and slept, nightmares of the day's events running rampant through her head.
    
    ***********************************************************************
    
                   The following morning, or at least it had been morning half an hour earlier Anzu awoke with a start. She was surprised to find her self in her room and assumed that her father had carried her up to her bed when he had returned home that night. The ugly numbers 12:48 blinked at her from her clock and Anzu resolved that it wouldn't even be worth going to school that day. She rolled out of bed and wandered down stairs to where she read a note from her father about how they would be having a talk when he got home about her behavior as of late. Feeling a bit down Anzu climbed the stairs and drew herself a bath. After successfully wasting another hour Anzu got out, dried her hair, dressed, and then left for a walk. The streets were fairly empty in the mid afternoon hour, save for a few late lunchers and those who wandered like Anzu with no real purpose. 
    
                   As fate would have it two of these wanderers were Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar. However all three were unaware of one another's presences. As Ryou wandered his mind was on the being that had returned to him. Malik's mind wandered on various subjects but mostly fell to Anzu and the intimate kiss they had shared the day before.  Anzu's mind was surprising void of all thought, but to her it felt overwhelmingly good. The relaxing sensation of simply walking for the sake of walking, not to think or escape someone, was all Anzu wanted at that moment. So running into Ryou and Malik was the one thing she didn't want. Anzu came upon Ryou when she looked up suddenly feeling eyes on her. And sure enough Ryou, still dressed in his school uniform for only having skipped his afternoon classes, was watching her from up the street. They only looked at each other for a moment; both seemed surprised to see one another. Finally Anzu raised her hand in greeting and the two met half way down the street. For a moment neither said anything but finally Ryou spoke.
    
                   "Yugi and the others wouldn't tell me anything, but I know something was up. Care to talk about it?" he asked but then quickly added seeing her face, "you don't have to though." She smiled at him.
    
                   "No its ok, it was just nice not to think about anything for a while," Anzu explained. "Why aren't you in school?" she ventured honestly curious. He grinned at her sheepishly.
    
                   "You aren't the only one who likes to have a clear mind. Or skip school for that matter," he said noting her casual dress and smiling. Anzu returned the smile.
    
                   "How appropriate," said a new voice. Both Anzu and Ryou turned quickly to see Malik had joined them. "The two people I wanted to see waiting next to one another. How convenient for me, two bird with one stone. " Next to her Anzu felt Ryou stiffen for a moment before a cool chill over took her completely and the next time she looked upon her friend it wasn't him but the spirit of the Millennium ring, Bakura. Anzu stumbled backwards from him for a moment, surprised at the sudden transformation.
    
                   "Ba, Bakura," she stuttered. The tomb robber calmly acknowledged her for a moment before turning his attention fully on Malik who was smiling coolly. 
    
                   (AN: On the note of Bakura and Malik. It is my understanding, though I am not 100% sure, that he betrays Malik in some way and hides in the Millennium Puzzle because the he is attacked by Malik. This is my understanding and what this part of the chapter is based on. If this is terribly incorrect please let me know. I want to be as correct as possible. Kassie had told me that Bakura died, but I am not sure. I missed the new episode this Saturday so I don't know if anything happened. Let me know if you know please!!) 
    
                   "So glad to have you join us Bakura," Malik said.
    
                   "What do you want Malik?" Bakura asked. Anzu was forgotten in the sidelines. Bakura looked as menacing as ever and Malik looked positively murderous. Anzu couldn't help but shudder at the fact that she was so close to two of the most dangerous people she had ever known. 
    
                   "I believe that you know what I want Bakura, just a little pay back for the betrayal you gave me." The white haired spirit laughed at him.
    
                   "And what do you think that you could do?" he asked. Malik let a tiny growl escape his throat as he moved toward to Bakura. Anzu who hadn't spoken or moved since the two had begun to 'talk' moved in front of Malik. She placed her hands against him, trying to slow his advance. He did only because he was surprised by her actions.
    
                   "Don't do this Malik," she cautioned. 
    
                   "Move out of the way Anzu," Malik ordered pulling his surprised eyes away from her to glare at Bakura once more. Anzu was forced to put more weight against him to stop him from all together lunge at Bakura who was laughing at the moment.
    
                   "Go ahead Malik, let her get into this, all the more fun for us," Bakura taunted. Malik spoke to Bakura in Egyptian and as soon as he finished Bakura moved at him. Anzu removed one hand from Malik and braced herself against Bakura as well, stopping the two for a moment, but only for moment. She couldn't even register what had happen or who had pushed her but the moment that she realized that she was about to hit the ground she was caught. Anzu looked up and Rory smiled down at her. 
    
                   "You seem to be having a bit of trouble with gravity," she said and then righted Anzu on her feet. "You all right?" she asked with seriousness. Anzu nodded mutely and Rory turned to Malik and Bakura who had stopped the barely started scuffle when Rory had spoken. "Problem here boys?" Rory asked surveying the two, hands on her hips. It was amazing how alike the two boys were as the both sneered at her.
    
                   "Nothing that concerns you woman," Bakura told her and Rory smiled.
    
                   "Try me albino, I'm just itching for a fight," she said bouncing slightly on her toes. "And besides," she continued, "anything concerning this girl concerns me too." Bakura looked slightly taken about for a moment before returning to his usual cruel smile.      
    
                   "Is that so?" Bakura mused. Malik looked both annoyed and furious.
    
                   "Anzu get your friend out of her," he ordered and Anzu snapped at his tone.
    
                   "Oh, we are far from friends," Rory answered first. "And by the way," she said moving over to Malik. A moment later he was nearly knocked off his feet after Rory hit him squarely in the jaw. He stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance and automatically rubbing his chin. Rory looked at him with frighteningly controlled fury and said simply, "touch her like that again and I will not hesitate form killing you." Anzu felt a shiver run down her back understanding suddenly why Rory was known the world over. "The same thing goes for you kid," Rory said looking at her shoulder at Bakura who was holding his head in his hands. He collapsed to one knee as the air suddenly changed and Anzu moved to his side knowing what was happening. When he looked at her it was Ryou looking at her. 
    
                   "Anzu?" he questioned obviously confused. "What happened?" 
    
                   "It's all right," she said.
    
                   "Like hell it didn't!" the forgotten Malik exclaimed. He moved toward Anzu and Ryou were only to fine Rory in his way. "Get out of my way," he ordered.
    
                   "Try me," was all Rory said. Malik seemed to be wrestling with the notion of taking her on when Anzu spoke.
    
                   "Stop it Malik!" The only person to not look at Anzu was Rory who keep her green-gray eyes on Malik. "Just stop it Malik. Go away and leave Ryou alone." Malik looked as if he wanted to argue but Rory shifted her feet just enough so that Malik's attention was brought back to her. He growled in frustration and turned away from the three. When he was safely out of sight Rory turned back to Anzu and the boy who was now on his feet.  Rory stepped away to give them some privacy and to get herself a cigarette. A few minutes later she looked up from where she was standing over to Anzu who she noted was walking away with the boy. Rory too turned to walk away but stopped suddenly when ran up behind her and threw her arms around her in a hug. Anzu pulled away after a moment Rory turned to look at her surprised. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping Ryou." Rory blinked a moment. 
    
                   "I was helping you," Rory said simply. Anzu shrugged.
    
                   "But you still helped," she said. Rory didn't meet her eyes but looked over to Ryou who was leaning up against a wall looking pale.
    
                   "Is he going to be ok?" she asked nodding in his direction. Anzu turned to look at him and frowned.
    
                   "He gets sick sometimes, he's got some," Anzu looked at her feet as she spoke, "problems."  'Yeah, problems called Bakura,' Anzu thought to herself. Rory looked at the girl who was in thought.
    
                   "Do you need help getting him home?" Rory asked and Anzu snapped her head up to look at her. 
    
                   "You'd help?" Anzu asked.  Rory shrugged her shoulder. 
    
                   "Why not," she said throwing her half used cigarette on the ground. 
    
                   "Then yes, I'd appreciate that," Anzu said. The two smiled at one another and went on their way. However as Anzu walked beside Rory who was supporting the semi conscious Ryou she couldn't help but think of one thing. It was Malik who had pushed her away, nearly causing her to fall and she shuddered at the thought.
    
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    Ok so that is it for now. Chapters will be a bit slower now that I am in school. Ok and so I don't get sued the songs in order of their use that I have no rights to: 'Watch Me Shine' by Joanna Pacitti, 'Its About Time' by Lillix, and finally 'Unwell' by Matchbox 20.  So that is it. Please Review. It is appreciated! Have a good day and God Bless America! 


	8. TO8

I must say that I really appreciate reviews. They encourage and inspire. I also enjoy constructive criticism. So if you are going to say something about my story please elaborate so I can make it better. Yes Sam, I do realize that Malik is OOC, but life happens. If it helps the story along than I say so be it. And by the way, I really don't know Malik's  'character'. Sadly I don't get to watch the show that much. Damn Saturday morning classes! (Sniff Cry Tear) From what I see Malik is a psychopath, a cute psychopath, but a psychopath none the less.  But oh well, a review is a review so thanks to those who have reviewed both my stories. (Frankly I am surprised that I haven't been flamed or attacked by an Anzu hater! Think I'm testing fate?) I'm so happy lately, so many nice encouraging reviews. But I've also been sooooo busy lately. All I want to do is write but college has got me sooo busy. But I try! I really am! Enjoy, that's all I have to say!

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            She fell out of bed. Of all things for one of the most sought after women in the underbelly of the world could do, she fell out of bed. Rory blinked as she stared into the tangle of blankets she was wrapped in, curious on how she came to be on the floor wrapped in the stiff hotel coverings. And as soon as she closed her eyes to resume her sleep the noise that had chased her from her slumber chorused again. Rory gave a tiny growl of frustration and pulled the tangled mess of sheets from her. Standing Rory pulled her tank top, which had risen up uncomfortably, and crossed the tiny room to her cell phone.  Yanking the contraption from its charger Rory growled into the receiver.

            "What," she snapped. 

            "That is the question on everyone's mind over here. What is Rory think?" a female voice responded. Rory scowled at the woman unseen.

            "So you got my message then?" she asked.

            "Obviously," came the simple response. 

            "Do you have any idea what time it is here?" Rory asked looking at the nasty numbers 4:30am on the digital clock by her bedside.

            "Do you really think that I care?" the other person answered. "You called me asking for a favor. Do you honestly think that I care about your convenience?" There was a silence between them for a moment before Rory spoke again.

            "Has anyone every told you that you are a heartless bitch Jeri?"

            "I've learned to deal. So what are you thinking Rory? You do realize that half of the Syndication is preparing to go get the bounty that Fredrick is just itching to put on you. The only thing that is restraining him is cause that DC job is underway." Rory smiled at the tiny silver phone.

            "That Senator is going to be in for the surprise of his life," Rory mused. 

            "Not necessarily," Jeri said. Rory's interest peaked.

            "What do you mean?" she asked. Rory had been out of the Syndication's loop for only a few days now but a few hours could be a life time at the pace the earth's secret world worked at.

            "You know how serious this job is," Jeri said, "I've never seen Fredrick so spun over something before. And not have his prodigy around isn't helping much either."

            "He's learned to deal without me for the past couple of years, I think he can deal now. Besides," Rory said, "I bet for a cut the Syndication would supply him with a nice team." 

            "Yeah, but Fredrick wants you. And anyways," she continued in a low voice, "something else is going on. But I have no idea what? I was hoping you might tip me off," Jeri said hopefully. Rory laughed at her softly.

            "If I knew, I'd tell you. Believe me. So you going to do me a favor or what?"

            "Depends, what you have you got in mind?" 

            "I quick DNA and fingerprint job."

            "Well you know that the fingerprint thing would take like two seconds, and I'm pretty sure you could do that on your own. And depending on the DNA sample I could get it for you pretty quick. But if you broke into lab I bet you could do that to. So why do you need me?" Jeri asked curiosity in her voice.   

            "Cause you are the best out there and I need it done to the best possible standard. And that means you. Besides, the DNA is pretty old and so are the fingerprints."

            "How old?" Jeri asked.

            "About 12 years." Rory said and Jeri gave a whistle from the other end of the phone.

            "Nice, when do you need the results."

            "ASAP, I'll send you the samples as soon as I have them. I'll have someone send over the samples that I need you to compare."

            "This isn't what I think it is, is it?" Jeri asked.

            "And that would be?" Rory wondered.

            "Gardner?" Jeri asked.

            "Just how much have you been talking to Fredrick lately?" Rory asked. 

            "Enough," Jeri said, "I'll get the results to you as soon as possible." 

            "Thanks Jeri," Rory said getting ready to say goodbye.

            "Now, about payment," Jeri said before Rory had a chance to end the conversation.

            "Why don't we do it this way," Rory said. "I don't let it slip to the government about the genetic testing that you have been doing."

            "That's very bad of you Rory. I've got just as much about you as you have on me." Jeri countered, though Rory could tell she was nervous.

            "You wish Jeri," Rory paused before she continued, "I like you Jeri. Forget what I just said. Remember that work I did for your cousin? We can call it even."

            "That's not the way it works Rory, and you know it. A life for a life." Jeri said.

            "I'm calling it Jeri. You're the best out there and I would like to keep on your good side. So we'll call it even for now and I'll save my government blackmail for another day," Rory said with a grin.

            "They don't say you're the best for nothing," Jeri said from the other line.

            "You know what Jeri," Rory said, "you are possibly one of the few people in the world that I actually trust."

            "Ditto," Jeri agreed.

            "I'll talk to you when I need you," Rory told her.

            "Good," there was a click as a goodbye and Rory did the same. Looking up at the clock Rory gave a tiny grown. 'No reason to waste the night,' Rory though as she pulled her laptop open. 'Time to work'.

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            "Young lady, I am talking to you here," Anzu's father Kenji snapped trying to regain the girl's wandering attention. Arms folded over her chest Anzu had been staring moodily out of the window while her father lectured her. Not only was he angry over her 'outlandish behavior over the past few days' but Anzu hadn't been home when he arrived from work. She had actually been at Ryou's with Rory who had stealthily disappeared as soon as Ryou was in the house. It was easy to say that when Anzu walked into the house just after dusk that her father was far from pleased. Kenji blew out a frustrated breath and ran his hair through his hair. "Just what is going on in your head lately?"

            "Nothing," Anzu mumbled under her breath while looking out the window again. Kenji bent over and placed his hands on the kitchen table he stood by and his daughter sat at and closed his eyes, blowing another frustrated breath.

            "This attitude needs to leave right now Anzu. You may be a young woman now but I am still your father and deserve your respect." On the edge of his hearing Kenji heard Anzu say something in scarcely a whisper. He could barely catch it but he was almost sure she said 'are you sure you're my father?' Kenji felt his face go pale as all the blood rushed from his face. "What did you say?" he asked almost panicked. 

            "Nothing," Anzu said louder this time. She stood suddenly catching her still surprised father off guard. "I know that I've been acting weird lately and I'm sorry for worrying you but like you said, I'm a young woman now and need to be left on my own sometimes. And whatever is going on now I need to deal with it on my own and you need to back off of me!" Anzu was slightly yelling as she finished but the pent up emotion she was feeling were fighting to get out of her and she fought to keep them to a dull roar. 

            "Don't take that type of tone with me Anzu. I, I, I don't know what to say you. What do you want me to say to you?" he asked. She didn't answer but wrapped her arms around her and turned to the window again. "Anzu, I know you skipped dancing the other day. And I know that you've been avoiding your friends," as he spoke, head to the table Anzu watched him in the mirror-like window and wondered what she was doing to her loved ones. They remained silent before Kenji left and said he was going to bed. 

            Later that night rain lashed at the windows of Anzu dimly lit room. The room's owner sat cross-legged on her bed in deep thought. Her mind was whirling with thoughts of the past few days. Rory said she would give her two weeks to decide, whatever there was to decide. Now her mind was whirling with possibilities of things she might not have even half dreamed. She felt as if she had been struck with some sense of adventure and need for discovery that she had never known before. And it thrilled her to no end. Perhaps it was the nature of the night or the talk she had had with her father. Or maybe, though she didn't want to admit it, Rory had actually gotten to her. But whatever the reason Anzu got up, locked the door, and shut off all the lights, save the reading lamp by her bed. When she was successful in bed Anzu reached into her nightstand door and pulled out her flashlight. Before turning off the desk lamp on her nightstand Anzu reached over the edge of bed and slightly lift the mattress, pulling a brown envelope from its depths. Having successfully retrieving the parcel Anzu turned off the desk lamp and turn her flashlight on, brightening up the dark room. Making sure she could hear no noise from her father's room or the hall Anzu opened the envelope with shaking fingers. Reading the first line Anzu was swept into a world that, maybe, could have once been hers.

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            Meredith Carwell and Anthony Gardner had had one of the great American romances that many dreamed about. The two had grown up on opposite sides of a sleepy suburb in Northern California. Anthony was one year older than Meredith and attended the public school system while Meredith was enrolled in Bernard's Prep School for Young Ladies. He was the football star of the Marcus Pentmoore High School Fighting Trojans and she was the head cheerleader of the Bernard Lionesses. Yet the two never met or even heard of one another despite there close contact to one another. That was until Meredith was accepted as a freshman to RoseHill University the year that Anthony was returning as a sophomore and football star. They met on the playing field one day. As the cheerleaders practiced on the sidelines the football players warmed up with some offensive drills. A drill went wrong and Anthony was knocked unconscious.

As fate would have it Meredith's father had been a doctor and Meredith had picked up a few things which was fortunate since the athletic trainer was currently with the swim team. When Anthony woke up the first thing he saw was "Meredith framed by the sun, looking like and angel, trying to bring me around with smelling salts." Anthony, enthralled by the cheerleader turned doctor, was able to return the favor. In the three weeks since Anthony's accident the quarterback had been trying to get the girl's attention in vain. She said, "that he was like some annoying puppy dog and I wanted nothing to do with him." Toward the end of the third week Anthony and a few fellow football players were walking past the cheerleaders who were finishing their practice when it went wrong. Meredith, at the top would have been doomed, the other spotters catching the other top girls, had Anthony been walking past. It was either fate, or very good luck, because Anthony caught the girl with ease and from that day forth the affection Anthony had for her was returned.

The two were married the summer before Meredith's junior year. Anthony graduated with a degree in business. He moved to the east coast to attend St. Paul University to get his Bachelor Degree and go into a stock company however he became enthralled with the arts while at St. Paul's. Moved so by it Anthony changed his goals from stock exchange to a career and fine art management, particularly the art of ballet.  Meredith followed him and finished her last year of college at St. Paul's as well and getting a job as a local TV meteorologist. They later moved to New York City where Anthony worked as a business manager for Julliard and Meredith as a meteorologist for a local weather station which ran 24 hour weather. She wasn't at this job for long though when she became pregnant with her and Anthony's first child. Baby Ronald however lost in miscarriage saddening the two and nearly destroying Meredith.  So distraught by this that Meredith developed sever depression straining the marriage but Anthony stayed by Meredith's side and the two worked through it.

Then they found out that Meredith was pregnant again, this time with Tea. The pregnancy went by uneventfully until Meredith's water broke only into the second week of her eighth month. Although slightly premature baby Tea was fine and so was her mother and the young family grew together. Meredith and Anthony would try to have more children but it wasn't until after Tea's abduction that either would achieve that goal. When Tea was three Anthony got a promotion at Julliard and the three moved to a house in Connecticut. Meredith left her job to be a full time mother for Tea and work on an instructional book for young aspiring female athletes. All in all life couldn't be much better for the young family until the fateful spring afternoon that changed so many. It had been a long hard winter and Meredith decided to take Tea to the local park for the first real warm spell in months. While the young girl, now four, observed the puddles with interest her mother watched on making notes in her notebook for the follow up book she was planning. Tea announced to her mother that she wanted to swing, upon correcting her daughter on the use of please Meredith rose to follow her daughter, that was when the first stages of the initial kidnapping took place. A seemingly lost tourist and his wife approached Meredith who called to Tea to wait for her. While Meredith directed the couple to Walnut Street Tea watched on impatiently a few feet away. She could clearly see the swings and wanted to get the best one which was currently open. Why would her mother be talking other people and taking so long? Deciding not to wait for her mother Tea turned back in the direction of the swings and came face to face with a young blonde man who was smiling at her sweetly.

"Where are you going sweetheart?" he asked.

"No where," the little girl mumbled thinking that only her dad called her sweetheart. The man crouched down on his knees so that they really were face to face.

"You looked like you were going to swing. Were you?" he asked. Tea nodded.

"But I have to wait for mommy," she said a little bolder.

"Well your mom looks pretty busy," as he spoke Tea turned to look at her mother who was indeed still talking with the two adults. "I was going to go on the swings too. Would you like to come with me?" he asked.

Meanwhile Meredith was repeating for the third time where Walnut Street was with annoyance in her voice. She was trying to catch Tea in her eyesight and saw the man talking to her, extending his hand. Meredith felt panic rise up in her throat. She tried to call out to her daughter but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat and the annoying couple was trying to distract her once more. Then as Tea accepted the man's hand Meredith found her voice and screamed Tea's name. She made to run to the girl who was currently being picked up off the ground but ran into a wall formed by the couple. Meredith screamed her daughter's name again, along with pleas for help or the police and finally got away from the two who would disappear after that moment. Meredith ran with all her might after her child and the abductor continuing to scream for someone, anyone to help her but the park was close to empty. Ahead of her she saw a few people looking in her direction and after the man who was fleeing with her daughter. Meredith could not comprehend why no one was doing anything. Finally someone did and took off after the man that had reached his car. 

Meredith ran harder as Tea was thrown in the back and the man jumped in the passenger seat, the waiting driver already starting the car. The teenager that had run after them, who had obviously skipped school, had grabbed the handle of the back door and was trying to wretch it open to no avail. Meredith was almost there when she slipped in some of the left over slush and went down nearly breaking her ankle. She tried to stand to fight but was helpless and could only watch the teen's last valiant efforts to save her daughter before he had to let go or be dragged to his death. One of his companions was on the phone with the police while another frantically copied the license plate. Two others came over to consol her and make sure she was ok.

The next few days went by in a blur for the once happy, now broken family. Both the police and the FBI were involved and the media was having a field day. A little girl abducted in broad daylight in her mother's plain sight was not an everyday occurrence. The community's sympathy was overflowing as well as the country's as those investigating tried to make heads or tails over what had happened. But no sign of the girl ever turned up and interest in the case eventually fell from the public. However the search continued through the media frenzy faded and the overflow of support slowed to a trickle. The stress of the situation took its toll on the two parents; Meredith was in and out of the hospital due to stress related ailments and Anthony became enthralled in his work. Soon the very foundation of their marriage was shaken and the two separated for a trail period in hopes of saving their marriage. It didn't work and the divorced was finalized. However the search continued as the two tried to move on with their lives remarrying, and starting families. Just a little after the sixth anniversary of Tea's disappearance was when Anthony learned about Rory. Anthony had moved back to the city from Connecticut with his second wife Gloria and his two stepsons and newest baby girl Hope and was enjoying his job as assistant director of the American Ballet Company/Academy when a coworker brought up the subject of Tea and her search. Not wanting to hear about it Anthony prepared to leave but the coworker persuaded him to stay and hear his testimony on a woman, no more of a girl, who could help. 

He had not had any direct contact with the agent, he told Anthony but the girl agent had supposedly stopped an assassination attempt on the president. When Anthony said that he had never heard of it the coworker informed him that she had covered it up personally as a favor to a friend. And here is where it gets interesting, the coworker said, my uncle has a favor due from her and would be will to help him out. The truth of the matter was the Rory had heard about Tea's case through the grape vine but was too proud to approach Anthony or his wife on the situation. It was true that Rory could be a heartless killer or destroy whole factories without blinking but she was generally a good-hearted person. And for her sins she always tried to even the score some how and her current Good Samaritan act was to be the Gardners. However, what Rory anticipated as an open and shut case turned into a four yearlong search and international manhunt. Sheer fascination with the case and sympathy for Anthony who she had come to respect was what kept her going. 

Meredith, who had remarried and was currently living back in California with a large family, was of course informed as to the progress of case. Rory had met with her only briefly on a few occasions and only with Anthony there. Rory was certain she wouldn't have like Meredith if it weren't for Anthony. Time passed and Rory was forced to push the case off of her priority list but she never stopped looking for leads or perusing possibilities of the girl's existence. In the processes Rory had anonymously returned dozens of children to their rightful homes and put their captors behind bars. But rarely did she find anything pertaining to Tea Gardner. Until that is until Rory came to Domino on a badly booked flight and stumbled upon her in a tiny diner in a tiny city that Rory would never have even considered before. 

The newest information had about the case was that after being stolen from her parents Tea was driven to Pennsylvania, presumably in a different care because the vehicle that was reported to take her was sold to a teen in New Jersey the next day. From there the next known whereabouts of the girl was Moscow and from their unknown until she turned back up in Domino at the age of 16. 

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            Anzu rubbed the tears away from her eyes as she finished the story. Not having the heart to look at the rest of the paperwork Anzu set to put it away neatly back under her bed and then suddenly furious with herself and the situation Anzu threw the paper across the room where they exploded against her desk chair. She waited a moment to hear if her father had heard her but no notice came except for her sudden rapid breaths. Still angry at something Anzu turned off her flashlight with much frustration and lied down on her bed moodily but she already knew that no sleep would come to her. Tears feel from Anzu's eyes for no real reason as she wrapped her blankets around her tightly. Sometimes Anzu just felt so full of emotion that her only option was just to let tears flow from her eyes. She felt herself shaking slightly and tried to draw warmth into her suddenly chilled body.

            "This isn't happening," Anzu said speaking her thoughts aloud, "get out of my heard Rory." Anzu felt herself beginning to shake with a cold that was completely internal. The tears continued to fall and Anzu saw no other choice to fix her problems. She rose out of bed, taking a few of the blankets with her and wandered out of her room. Her feet padded down the hall silently before she reached the last door on the left. Her parents room had original been the last room on the right but after the death of her mother her father had switched rooms. Anzu now looked to the room, hoping against all hope that somehow her mother would appear and make her life all better. After a moment of waiting and nothing happening Anzu again focused on the door in front of her. She raised her hand to knock on the soft wood but thought against it. Instead she let her hand travel to the metal knob and let it turn slowly listening to the gears clink in the still night. She was certain that the noise the knob made would be enough to wake her father but when she pushed the door open with a creak there was no movement in the room.    

            A crack in the window drapes blinded her slightly for a moment before she blinked and focused on the double bed where her father slept. He didn't stir at her intrusion so she ventured in, the soft carpeting muffling her footsteps. 

            "Daddy?" she asked tentatively into the night air. Her father stirred and turned over, sitting up. "Daddy," Anzu said again her voice shaking.

            "Anzu? Honey what's wrong?" her father asked sitting getting up quickly. He moved over to his daughter who was now sobbing quietly. "Oh Anzu, don't cry. Shh" he commanded taking her in a hug and rubbing her back. "Its ok baby, what ever it is we can fix. Come on baby girl." Anzu only continued to sob.

            "Dad, I'm so sorry. I've been so awful lately. To you and Yugi and the others. But you the most. I'm so sorry. I don't deserve to have a dad like you." She said this as she continued to cry, unable to contain herself any longer.  

"Honey, never say that. I love you so much. You are so wonderful and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it." He was silent after he finished. Anzu calmed after many moments of silence as her father rubbed her back soothingly. After she calmed down sufficiently Kenji sat down on his bed with his daughter. It only took him a moment to realize that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled down at her remembering the last time that she had fallen asleep like this was in the months after her mother's death. 'No reason why she can't sleep in my bed like she did when the monsters came out of the closet,' he thought as he picked her up and laid her on the unoccupied side of the bed. He made no move to sleep himself though, he merely stayed awake and watched his daughter sleep through the night.

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            Anzu walked to school the next morning in a slower than normal pace. She was frowning at the sidewalk as if it were the cause for her discomfort. Anzu had no real desire to go to school today other than the fact that it was her responsibility and she couldn't afford to fall behind in work. Anzu was also very anxious because she didn't want to confront Yugi, Jou, or Honda and be forced to explain things to them. Anzu bit back a yawn as she stretched her arms over her head, avoiding her swinging bag in the process. She had awoken in her father's bed the morning and it only took moments for her to get past her confusion and remember all that had happened the day before and all that she had learned the day before. The Gardners' story was fresh in her mind as she rounded the corner of the street that held her school. Taking a deep breath Anzu waked through the gateway and found a near empty schoolyard. She glanced at her watched and realized that she must have left much earlier than she intended. 

            She had a slight sense of relief at not having to she Jou and the others when Yugi's light voice carried across the yard. She looked up and was tempted to hide behind a tree or something but stole her courage and waited, watching. Yugi hadn't noticed her yet, he was across the yard talking to a teacher who finished there conversation with a bow and the two parted ways. Yugi still hadn't noticed her when he went to sit a picnic table and pulled open a book to read. Yami however had noticed Anzu but didn't say anything to his light, he simply watched her with his crimson eyes blazing. But as if sensing his darker half's attention Yugi turned and looked at Anzu. He smiled and waved at her before looking back at his book. Anzu felt her heart pang and she walked over to her best friend. She stopped at his shoulder and taking a breath put her hand on his shoulder saying, "Yugi?" 

            The response would have been quite comical if not for the seriousness of the situation. Yugi had jumped under her touch and with a yelp threw the book in the air where it landed rather unceremoniously on top of his head. Anzu withdrew her had and fought back a laugh. Yugi turned to her.

            "Yes, yes, so funny. Next time don't sneak up like that Anzu. I can't afford a heart attack at such a young age," he said this all in a scolding voice but his laughing eyes gave him away. Anzu smiled in return, forgetting all her apprehension.

            "Well excuse me King of Games. I just thought you could handle a friend tapping you on the shoulder." In the back of his mind, unbeknownst to Anzu, Yugi felt Yami flinch at the comment. Technically the title was Yami's and although she didn't intend to Anzu had just severely hurt Yami by using his title on Yugi. Yugi was about to say something to Yami when he felt their mind link snap with a terrible thundering in his ears. He shook it off physically and looked up to Anzu's questioning eyes.

            "You ok?" she asked noting his odd behavior. He nodded and said,

            "I'm fine, but I think the question should be if you are all right Anzu? You gave us quite a scare, we've all been really worried about you." As Yugi told her this he watched Anzu's eyes go dark with what he could best determine as shame and she suddenly became very interested in her toe which dug into the dirt in tiny patterns. 

            "About that," Anzu started but Yugi cut her off.

            "But, I was thinking about it and I talked to Jou and Honda and they agree with me. You were right," Anzu's head snapped up as he spoke. "What's your business is your business and how you live your life and," he paused for a moment and considered, "what secret's you keep are your choices. I think that the four of us have just grown so close so fast that we made some unhealthy assumptions. Among these is that you need our protection. Anzu you and I have been friends for a long time. Longer than anyone I know and yet sometimes you are such a mystery to me."

            "But I don't want to be," Anzu protested. "I want for you to all know me. I don't want secrets between us. I want…I want," Anzu wanted to continue but just could not find the words. What did she want? Yugi seemed to catch this.

            "Its alright Anzu. Things will work out in time and until then know that I'm here for you 100% as a friend." When he finished Yugi went to put his book in his bag but was nearly knocked over by the force of Anzu throwing her arms around him in a giant hug. 

            "Oh my God Yugi! You have got to be the greatest person in the world" she exclaimed burying her face into his shoulder. He was very surprised by all of this and when she picked her head up again there were tears in her eyes and on her face. He was surprised to see this and rushed to consol her.

            "Oh Anzu, Anzu please don't cry. Its ok really," he trailed off as he watch Anzu laugh through her tears. In was plain to see that Yugi was extremely confused. Anzu laughed for another moment or two before rubbing her face with the sleeve of her jacket. 

            "Oh Yugi, you are just so wonderful. I'm crying cause I am so happy. I really do not deserve such a great friend." Anzu said this all while smiling at him with tear sparkled eyes. During her laughing fit she had sunk down next to Yugi who now had to look down at her. Yugi blushed at the way she looked at him and tried to shrug his shoulders indifferently.

            "Well then it goes both ways." See her questioning look he continued. "I don't deserve a friend like you either." Anzu opened her mouth to protest but she was suddenly lifted from the ground with such force the she could only manage a strangled cry. Jou was holding her practically upset down and Anzu was fighting both him and the forces of gravity to keep her skirt from flipping up. Yugi blushed even deeper.

            "Jou would you please put me down. This is a very uncomfortable position." She had to turn to see him grin.

            "Just a sec, I have to make you're in one piece." As he spoke he took his free hand and poked it to her most ticklish spot just under her ribs. Anzu laughed in spite of herself and did her best to keep her skirt down as Jou poked her in various places causing her to jerk reflectively. When he finally put her down she was laughing so hard that she was crying again. She had to admit that it felt good to laugh so much after such a dry spell the past couple of days. Honda wrapped an arm around her from behind hugging her to him.

            "You all right?" he questioned looking down at her. She smiled up him.

            "Hmmm, much better now" she assured him.

            "So you wanna talk about it?" Jou asked and Anzu honestly considered the request.

            "No," she said shaking her head still in Honda's hug, "not really." She noted his disappointed face. "But don't worry, I will. Just not right now." She moved out of Honda's embrace and turned so she could look at all of them. "Really, its just I really can't right now because I really don't understand what is going on myself. But give it a week, maybe two and I bet things will go back to normal, I promise" she said sealing her promise with a smile. The three boys smiled in spite of the seriousness of Anzu's predicament. They didn't know what was going on but they all knew that they would be there no matter what. It was at that point that the warning bell rang for classes the quartet gathered their books and moved toward the building. Just before she entered the building Anzu stopped suddenly feeling a chill run down her back. Her friends noticed her absence after a few steps.

            "Anzu?" Jou called after her snapping her to the present. 

            "Go ahead," she called back, "I forgot a book." All three nodded but Yugi, or more appropriately Yami, hung back and followed her. Anzu had meanwhile gone back to the table that they were at moments before and looked about as if expecting to find something. She felt the eyes on her but only find Yami watching her. "So…" she trailed off. She had wanted to avoid this meeting but knew she would have to face him eventually, it was destiny.

            "I've been worried about you Anzu," he stated simply. "But I knew in my hearts of heart that you were in no mortal danger. If that were the case I would have been stuck to your side whether you like it or not." He grinned at her and she shivered at it severity. "The case being," he continued looking away from her across the now empty yard, "I wanted to be with you since that Rory woman was talking with you outside your dance studio. But Yugi wouldn't let me and he can be very persuasive when he wants to be." Anzu giggled slightly though it was forced. Yami smiled at her and closed the distance between them. Anzu sucked her breath in as she looked up into his eyes. "The truth is Anzu that whatever you are going through, this changes nothing between us." He put his hands on her waist and pulled her the remaining inches to him. Anzu didn't even try to protest. "I still don't know what is entirely what is going on between us but I'd still like to try Anzu." She wanted to say something but saw what was about to happen in his eyes and chose not to interrupt. 

            This kiss was different than the one on the street just days before. Yami was gentler this time and there wasn't the urgency that their had been before. This kiss seemed perfect and planned as Anzu had the sensation of velvet on velvet. He moved the kiss to the corners of her mouth and then back to fully take in her lips though he didn't push further. Anzu almost wanted to and felt a spike of disappointment when he withdrew. He smiled his same dark smile that he used when he dueled however there was something in his eyes which Anzu could not mistake. 

               "This is neither the time nor the place," Yami told her bringing a hand to run through her hair. He allowed himself the pleasure of watching the chocolate locks fall through his fingers. "As much as would like it to be," he said letting his lips fall across her jaw line feather light causing Anzu to shudder deeply, "we can't." Unbeknownst to Anzu Yami had broken their moment due to the eyes he felt upon them, the same that Anzu had first felt and now felt alive with anger. It frightened her slightly and she almost buried herself deeper in Yami's arms for protection. But she had an idea of who was watching them and wanted to face him.

            "You're right," she agreed. "Just give me a moment while I find that book," she said hoping to fool him. 

            "Alright, I'll wait for you inside" he told her and moved out of sight. She watched the direction he went for a moment before turning to face Malik. He was standing behind her, his anger obvious, but she stood calmly waiting for him to speech. She wasn't ready to talk to him after the way he had acted toward her the day before, she was also slightly afraid though she refused to show him. He was watching her with the glint in his eyes that he had at Battle City and sporting the bruise the Rory had administered the day 

before.

            "That looks likes it hurts," Anzu said neutrally, " sore?"

            "Don't bullshit with me Anzu," he said sternly and moved so that he was right in front of her. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer to him sharply. "What the hell were you doing with the Pharaoh?" Anzu pulled her wrists down breaking his grip on her.

            "What does it matter? Its not like you have anything to do with my choices in life. I talk with who I want to and when I want to. I do not appreciate the way you think that you can just order and push me around." She paused before turning to walk away. "You know, I thought you could change. I thought you could be the person that your sister said you once were. I believed her and so resolved to give you a chance if the opportunity ever came. But I'm starting to think I'm wrong. I'm sorry Malik but until you start treating me like a human being and not something that you can just use and throw away I don't think that I can be friends with you. You controlled me once before against my will," Anzu said recalling her memories of Battle City, "and it didn't work out to well. Please don't try it again in any way shape or form." She moved to walk away from him, " Goodbye Malik." She could hear him move behind her as he said,

            "Don't you dare walk away from me Anzu" and it was Yami who answered him.

            "Or what Malik?" he asked coming to stand with Anzu. She automatically moved closer to him and he gladly put his arm around her waist. Malik's fury/jealously was obvious and even Anzu could feel the air crack with his power.

            "This doesn't concern you Pharaoh and I'd like to ask you take her hands off her now," it was a demand and not a question. Yami's only response was to tighten his grip on her. 

            "It is unfortunately out of my control who Anzu chooses to have associations with. And if she chooses to befriend you I cannot stop her. But know this," the air seemed to bubble with his own power, "if you harm her in anyway I will make you in ways that will make the Shadow Realm look like a vacation. Do you understand?"

            "You said it yourself Pharaoh, you have no control over her so get your filthy hands off of her. We were having a talk." In response Anzu stepped back a bit from Yami but not out of his hold, it felt too secure. 

            "No Malik, I have to go. I have class and a life to lead." Anzu looked up at Yami meaningfully, hoping that he would catch her meaning and he seemed to. They turned, Yami's hand slipping from her waist to catch her hand in secured warmth, and walked back to the school.

            "You are lucky she is here Pharaoh. I wouldn't turn my back so easily next time," Malik called out the warning. Anzu let Yami's hand drop hers and place it instead around her shoulder. She felt Malik's eyes on them until they were completely out of sight and even then the feel lingered on her. She was thankful for Yami's arm wrapped her. It kept her from running back to Malik and a part of her, a part that frightened her, did.

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  Woooh! Long time no see right? I'm really sorry about that. I'll get the next chapter done faster and will have the next chapter of 'You Wish' out very soon I hope. Please read and review. Love you all for the support and keep your votes on who you want Anzu with coming! Lets make it a race people!!! 


	9. TO9

Umm…. so wow. I got flamed like tomorrow was never going to come. I guess I was tempting fate before! Oh well, if this is some sort of right of passage I'm just fine with it. From what I can gather everyone who isn't screaming hate about Anzu is flamed by this guy. And I must admit that he rhymed quite well… I can give him that much. If I had gotten **_real _**constructive criticism instead of people bitching about OOC and the fact that I like Anzu and who I pair her with, I really wouldn't have minded.

First of all if you do not want any OOC than you should just be watching the show or reading the manga and not reading fanfiction. I am not Kazuki Takahashi, never have been and never will be. Therefore all of the characters will be off in some way or another.

Secondly, I am very very sorry about this wait. I will never let it go for that long ever again. If I do then Nuggets and Webster might kill me. They are glaring down at me from their perch on my monitor right now. Stuffed purple horses and yellow ducks can be scary when they want to be

Finally, I have decided to go a bit more in depth with the story to explain some things (Mainly the Malik/Anzu relationship as well as some looks into Yami's own admirations). This will make the story a few chapters longer then I originally thought. I have already written the final chapter in advance just cause I couldn't resist. And check out my one-shot 'Champagne High', a Seto-Anzu romance, well sort of. If that goes well enough I will have either a Anzu/Ryo romance or Anzu/Bakura one shot out next. I'm really into Anzu/Bakura lately for some reason. So I hope you enjoy this new chapter and that you all don't hate me too much. Now, enough stupid author babble- on with the story!

The laptop's gentle glow was only a minor distraction as the young man stared off into space. He was doing something quite out of his character and was for once not thinking only in an analytical way but let his thoughts wander. The pen cap that stuck out of the corner of his mouth was also about as out of place as a penguin in a desert but in the late hours of the night, or more or less early hours of the morning, he was content that no one would find him here like this. He was wrong.

Although his thoughts wandered they circled around one main thought pattern. A girl, also outside his normal thoughts, had been plaguing him for many days now. He frowned and corrected his own inner voice, she was assuredly a woman, a woman who's mere shadow caused great discomfort to those who knew even whispers of her. All except for him, nothing got to him of course, or at least he wouldn't let it show. But the woman was a problem. She floated around this town as if she were a tourist or even a citizen adding more evidence to his hypothesis that Domino City was the most out of the way and secluded stop in the world. That was part of the reason that he had moved himself and Mokuba here after the 'accident' his adopted father suffered.

Leaning back into his chair Seto Kaiba let the cap less pen he held twirl in his fingers. He wasn't a cautious man, nor was he a coward. He knew the difference and prided himself instead on being a master strategist. A hero could be just that, a hero, but with no plan could be killed in a moment. The general was a man who never went into battle but watched and planned. Seto was like the commandeered. The real backbone of any operation who both thought and fought. A deadly and rare combination which had helped raise Kaiba Corporation to the top of the free world. However, Seto was caught between the part of him that wanted to plot for Rory Waters ultimate demise and the part of him which wanted to find Rory and kill her straight out.

'As if I could kill her any way' he thought as he watched the pen's movements. Seto very rarely admitted if or when someone was better than he was, though in his own mind this was a rarity. Rory was one of the few exceptions. He had met her, or at least seen her, when he was just eleven and she was sixteen. He and Mokuba (AN: that is around the age that they were adopted right??) had just been adopted into Gozubaro's home. Rory had been with another older man who left the two alone to deal with some sort of business. Seto wasn't sure what had happened or what cause it but a fight occurred that resulted in Rory nearly killing Gozubaro by hand after the man landed three shots on her at close range. Seto's initial thoughts of her were awe for surviving something like that. However years later after he had taken over the company Seto had walked into his office late one night to find someone very unexpected. They chatted for a while, Rory hidden in the shadows of the darkened room, Seto trying to find her in the darkness as well as place her voice in his memory. When he finally did she revealed herself to him and sweet-talked him before disappearing once more.

Seto was convinced that he had made an ally of her when he realized the next day what she had actually been doing that night. Nearly half his stocks in Kaiba Corps had been redistributed to the hands of those 'less that trust worthy' and millions of dollars had suddenly been misplaced. Seto had been lucky to keep it covered up but the damage nearly cost him his company to who would later be known as the 'Big Five'. Seto caught a glimpse of Rory again nearly a year ago in the ruins of his Philadelphia plant. That had almost ruined him as well and the information she had stolen and consequently destroyed had yet to be replaced. She had saved Mokuba however and no one had died in the destruction of the plant.

And now she was back in his life or more accurately the life of Anzu Mazaki. This puzzled him to no end. Seto could understand why Rory would have come to Domino City for him. He had practically set up a sign announcing his life is Domino with his Battle City tournament. That could explain why she would suddenly know where he was but it still left the question to Waters involvement with Mazaki. With this thought in mind Seto Kiaba pressed the intercom button that connected to the secretary desk outside his door. Despite the hour Seto knew that she would still be waiting there. She was new and eager to please and she had somehow gotten it into her head that she had to stay as long as he did. "Ms. Kino," Seto said clearly breaking into the silent office. On the other side of the intercom Seto could hear slow movements followed before a brief scramble showing that she had been asleep.

"Yes Mr. Kaiba," came a hurried yet sleep slurred response.

"Starting tomorrow morning I would like you to get me all the information you can on Anzu Mazaki and her family." There was the sound of pen on paper followed by the standard, 'Anything else Mr. Kaiba?' Seto shook his head before snapping, "no just go home and get some descent sleep. And be sure that you get here on time so I can get real work out of you during pay hours." On one side of the door Seto's frazzled secretary let it sink in that she wasn't being paid, on the other Seto sat waiting for her to make her presence known to him. Impatience finally got the better of him and he growled, "are you coming out or do I have to wait all night?"

"I would think that you wouldn't be so cruel as to lead on your secretary like that Mr. Kaaba," Rory's silky voice flowed to him as she move as silkily in the only light from the window, save for the computer screen. Although he had seen her briefly in Yugi's game shop and through the smoke of his ruined complex only nights before this was Seto's first good look at her in sometime, though she was as he remembered her. She was a potent mix of darkness and fire. Her rich red hair stood out in the lamplight that leaked through the opened and was the only bit of light on her. Her normally green gray eyes had turned nearly black in the darkness and he could feel those dark eyes graze over him casually as his own blue ones studied her intently. She was dressed for her work that night and was dressed a burglar's colors. Black jeans shorts clung to her and were barely visible against the tight black pants, assumingly spandex, she wore under them. Her top was a practical black tank top cover by a black sweatshirt zipped up just enough to still show off her cleavage and breasts.

'Yes,' Seto thought grimly, 'dressed for the work of a prostitute.' Rory allowed a small smirk noting the suddenly uncomfortable Kaiba. He was a very hard man to read but Rory could notice the barest of blushes on his cheeks and knew that her appearance had taken him by surprise. Rory wasn't ashamed of using her body for an advantage in her job but she had a 'touch with your eyes, not with your hands' policy which she meant to enforce.

"Have you noticed Mr. Kaiba," Rory continued not moving an inch, "that all your secretaries have been female?"

"Don't bull shit around here Ms. Waters," Seto growled back. "Both of our time is took valuable to waste on idle chitchat." Rory however continued on her banter.

"You know that is a stereotype that we in the states have over come. You'd think that a man as 'progressive' as you would have moved past having only female sectaries."

"That's not what we are talking about here," Seto started to say but was interrupted by Rory,

"And what are we talking about Mr. Kiaba?" Rory asked inspecting a fingernail. "Because it seems to that there is nothing to discuss." She watched Seto raised an eyebrow curious, though knew that his patience was wearing thin. "It is my opinion," Rory said coming over and sitting on the edge of his desk so she faced the window, "that if we both just go about our lives that nothing will be amiss." She finished the statement with a wicked smile that reminded Kaiba of wolves.

"I could kill you right now," he told her nonchalantly though his eyes stayed locked her with deadly seriousness.

"But you won't," she informed his just as casually.

"Oh?"

"No," she told him again still keeping her eyes from him. "You'll go back to making game technology and I'll get what I want out of Anzu Mazaki and this city. And in the process," she was suddenly standing right next to him whispering in his ear, "rob you blind." He didn't move for a moment but when he finally turned to say something to her she was out of sight but not gone. "Oh and Seto?" her voice echoed off the walls of his office making her voice untraceable. "Leave Mazaki alone or else I will just it worse for you in the end." And then she was gone but not finished. She waited for him to leave, so frazzled that he left his precious laptop behind. She counted on this and quickly collected the machine before disappearing finally.

It was chilling to Anzu, in ways that it had not affected her before, the fact that Yami could be watching her all the time in the guise of Yugi. Or even from behind the boy's innocent eyes. This unnerved Anzu for the some reason and over the next few days she was uncomfortable when she was around Yugi. She knew that she was hurting her best friend's feelings and would have liked to talk to him about, well, everything. But the thought that Yami could be there watching her the whole time put her off. Anzu instead settled her deep emotional issues aside and focused instead on things she could control, mainly the physical and that meant to dance.

After the incident in the courtyard with Malik Anzu felt increasingly on edge and the fact that she couldn't talk with her best friends wasn't helping. This drove Anzu to endless hours in the dance studio any time that she could be there. It would not have been an odd thing to anyone who had known Anzu the time before Rory had entered Domino City but for her best friends, they knew the extremeness of her sudden passion was an area of concern. Anzu was just about unreachable in the days following her 'making up' with Yugi and the others. Although she acted normal in their presence, most likely for their benefit, Anzu's closest friends knew that she still wasn't one hundred present. And so this amounted to one thing.

"MOVIE NIGHT!" Jou shouted to a still sleepy Anzu one Friday morning outside of homeroom.

"I'd ask you to please not do that again," Anzu said a little too bleakly even for a sleepy Friday morning. Yugi looked up at her in concern.

"You all right Anzu?" he asked.

"Fine Yugi," she said rubbing her nose with a sniff without looking at him. "I think that I caught a spring cold that's all." The warning bell rang for latecomers to move to homeroom as Anzu finished her explanation. Summer had come a bit early it seemed, for at least today, and in the early morning hours the temper was already at an unseasonable 80 degrees. Despite this Anzu wore her winter uniform of a heavier pink sweater and longer skirt when earlier in the week she had been wearing her summer uniform. Despite the heavier outfit Anzu was obviously still cold and the light color of a fever spread on her cheeks. Yugi suddenly took notice of this as he watched Anzu sway weakly as she left them and moved to her seat. Yugi grabbed Honda and Jou before they followed her.

"Guys I don't think that Anzu is going to make it for hanging out tonight."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Honda said rubbing the back of his head. "She barely looks like she can make it to her seat." The three looked over to where, as if to spite them, Anzu sat down most ungracefully. All three winced slightly. "Guess we'll just have to reschedule." Jou gave a noise of disappointment but didn't expand on it as an equal noise to those not in their seats came from teacher. It didn't take long for the homeroom teacher, Ms. Chitada, to finish taking role and start in on the day's grammar lesson. All the while, despite her best intentions, Anzu's attention kept wavering and her notes were full of marks where her hand had slipped as she fell forward, uncontrollably dozing. Only Jou of her friends didn't seem to be concerned over Anzu's uncharacteristic behavior. He was instead glaring at Kaiba who was also uncharacteristically watching Anzu.

"Knock it off Kaiba," Jou growled in the loudest voice her dared while the teachers back was turned. Kaiba, who sat, oddly enough next to Jou didn't take his level eyes off the ailing girl.

"What's your problem Mutt?" Kaiba asked icily.

"Stop looking at Anzu. I don't know what sick things you are thinking about but don't do it while you're looking at her. Hell don't do it when you're in the same room as her" Jou snapped.

" Little possessive aren't we pup. Why? Jealous?" Seto asked removing his eyes for Anzu to smirk at Jou sadistically. Jou was about to jump out of his chair and literally kill the CEO when Yugi's panicked voice bounced out off the white walls of the classroom. Everyone turned to look at Yugi when another noise, a resounding crack brought their attention to Anzu who had just fallen out of her chair. She muttered a tiny, but audible 'oww', before falling unconscious. In almost and instant her friends where surrounding her trying to help the fallen girl.

"Anzu? Anzu?" Yugi repeated as her shook her shoulders.

"Stupid idiots," came Kaiba's cool and commanding voice over the din. "Idiots," he repeated as he too kneeled by Anzu, "give her some air."

"I'll call the nurse!" Ms. Chitada said as if she had suddenly wakened up.

"Don't bother," Kaiba counseled as his hand moved with expertise over Anzu, "call an ambulance. I think she is going into shock."

"Don't touch her!" Jou and Honda chorused together. Kaiba gave no recognition that he heard either of them.

"Hey!" Jou yelled and continued " I said," but Yugi interrupted.

"Knock it off Jou!" Yugi yelled at him with as much of a raised voice as he could manage. Both Jou and Honda looked taken a back.

"Yes," Ryou said quietly. "Anzu needs help. And if Kiaba can give it to her then we need to let him help her." That seemed to settle the matter at the nurse arrived and ordered everyone out of the room. Yugi somehow managed to stay in the room and left with Anzu when the paramedics came and took Anzu. Jou, Honda, and Ryou all watched them leave mournfully, wanting to be going as well. Ms. Chitada however had a different idea and ushered everyone back into the classroom. As soon as that class ended however Honda, Ryou, and Jou congregated at Jou's locker as he snuck out his cell phone and promptly called Yugi.

"Guys!" he answered instantly. "She's going to be ok." All three sighed a breath of relief.

"So what's wrong with her?" Honda asked stealing the phone away.

"We don't know yet. Just that they don't think it's serious."

"Who's we?" Jou asked taking his phone back forcefully.

"Me and Mr. Mazaki. He got here just a minute or so after the ambulance did. I guess the school called him."

"Are you staying down there?" Jou asked fighting Honda off for the phone.

"Mr. Mazaki told them to let me stay. Says I'm practically family anyway" Yugi said his voice getting quieter as the sentence came to a close. Jou rolled his eyes, practically seeing Yugi blush as he spoke.

"Yugi! You sly dog, trying to get to the dad while the girl is knocked out." Jou paused thoughtfully. "Maybe I should try that sometime."

"Jou," Yugi mumbled in a low, miserable voice. There was a moment of silence filled in only by the noises of the emergency room before Yugi spoke again. "Is that?" he questioned trailing off.

"Is what what Yugi?" Jou asked after giving Honda a particularly hard shove away from him. The other youth was now particularly anger which made Yugi's reply particularly hard to hear.

"I thought," Jou made out and then, "red head." And then finally, "Call later." There was a click and then the connection was gone.

"Thanks a lot Honda!" Jou shouted at his friend but only found his words echoing off of the now empty halls, Ryou and Honda gone. Jou looked around stupidly. "Where'd everybody go?"

"Mr. Katsuya!" came a menacing voice from behind him causing Jou to jump a good ten feet. "Mr. Katsuya," the voice repeated as Jou turned to face the voice he now registered as the school's vice principal and one of his least favorite people, right up next to Kiaba. (AN: I don't know about any of you but my vice principal in high school was a real dick I mean seriously. And I was a good kid! He gave me Saturday morning detention for skipping lunch of all things!! Lunch!! Oh well he is an ass and I'm in college so poo on him!!!) "Mr. Katsuya," he repeated for a third time, "do you really think that you are exempt from obeying the bells like everyone else?"

"No sir," Jou answered miserably.

"Then I suggest you start listening to the bell and go to your class," he ordered and Jou turned to go thinking that he had gotten off easy when the deadening voice caught him again. "And join me for detention this afternoon." Jou flinched.

"Yes sir," he said walking off and added in a mumbled voice "stupid Mr. Pencil-Penis(AN: High school nickname for that ass of a vice principal-sorry for the crudeness but I saw him the other day and he was a complete ass!! I mean I'm in college now and he still acts as if he can lord over me…. I think I have repressed issues…. Carry on with the story now)

"What was that Mr. Katsuya?" the subject of the slur asked. But the halls were already empty.

Meanwhile Yugi had hastily shoved his cell phone in his pocket, keeping the familiar woman in sights at all time. When she rounded the corner, Yugi dared a look around and saw that Mr. Mazaki was occupied so he jogged after the woman. As soon as he rounded the corner he saw her enter an elevator and got a full shot of her. She looked like one of the 'naughty nurses' from Jou's movies though she was dressed like any other nurse in the hospital. In fact if it hadn't been for her flaming red hair, which was so eloquently twisted in a bun, Yugi might not have noticed her. But it was the same woman he knew from his few previous encounters.

Without even taking a moment to think about it Yugi took off for the now closing doors of the elevator and got there just in time for them to shut in his face. Pressing his forehead to the cool metal doors of the elevator Yugi gave a defeated sigh before the ding of a bell brought him back to his senses. Looking up he saw that the elevator had stopped on the fifth floor. Feeling refreshed Yugi rushed to the stars and started to climb the three flights that separated him from Rory Waters. Upon reaching the fifth floor with a cramp in his side he ran promptly into Rory, or at least the woman he thought was Rory. Yugi's vision filled with the papers of the poor nurse's file whom he was currently trying to help stand. Her red hair now flying very haphazard around her around her face, now freed from her tortoise shell clip, was just trying to get away from the obviously crazy boy who was stammering about spies and such.

"Yugi!" Yami's voice suddenly rang out in his subconscious.

/What is it Yami? I'm kinda busy right now/ Yugi said mentally while on his hands and knees trying to get all of the nurse's scattered papers.

"Over there, she's around the corner!" Yugi's head shot up at Yami's comment and he whipped around only to find a doctor and patient in a wheel chair conversing. The young boy in the chair was talking adamantly to the young fair-haired doctor before a male nurse came up and seemed to be apologizing for letting the boy leave his room. Yugi shook his head and went back to picking up papers telling Yami /you're going crazy. That's not/ but stopped short when he noticed all the papers where gone. Instead he found an angry looking nurse who was obviously about to go off on him.

"Is there a problem here?" a new deep voiced asked. The fair-haired doctor had come over and was looking between the two with concern.

"None Dr. Honjo," the nurse answered before Yugi could even open his mouth, "I was just about to escort this boy out." And as if to prove her point she took Yugi's upper arm in a vice grip and started to steer him toward the door.

"Well wait a minute," Dr. Honjo said suddenly. The nurse and resultantly Yugi stopped. "I think I know you," he paused thoughtfully, "yes that's right. You came in with the girl from Domino High School right?"

"Ahh yea. That's what I was doing here. I was looking for her," Yugi quickly lied. The nurse, not to be forgotten spoke up then.

"Well this certainly isn't visiting hours and anyway that girl is not to be disturbed."

"I really just wanted to make sure she was ok," Yugi shot back looking desperately at the doctor for some sort of support.

"Well I think that we can allow that," Dr. Honjo said. The nurse opened her mouth to object again but the doctor raised a hand. "Its really alright. I'll take the boy in for a quick visit. In and out. No harm done." The nurse still looked doubtful. "Why don't you go take a break," Dr. Honjo continued, "You look as if you could use it." For a moment Yugi thought that she wasn't going to comply but then she sighed and relesed his arm muttering about needing a vacation. She entered onto the now open elevator and Yugi and the doctor were left. There was a moment, a pause, before the young doctor turned on his heel and began to walk down the hall. It took Yugi a half a breath to realize that he should be following but caught up with him in a moment.

It was less than I five minute walk, two lefts and then a right before they entered a ward marked for observation. Yugi looked up at the various charts as the pair passed them looking for Anzu's familiar name. The doctor stopped suddenly and Yugi almost ran into him. He was gazing through a glass window that wasn't really a window at all. Well in a sense it was. Yugi looked through it as well and instead of seeing so sort of view as he expected he saw Anzu sleeping peacefully, her face turned toward them, her right hand resting on her chest. Yugi only stared for a moment at the scene that framed Anzu in perfect tranquility despite the fact that she was in a hospital; the one place Yugi knew she truly hated. In the months preceding her death, Anzu's mother had spent a great deal of time in this very hospital. Now Anzu was close to phobic of anything relatively close to hospitals. In fact she had faked illness when their class was supposed to go to a local nursing home in the holiday season. The silence was broken by the forgotten doctor standing next to Yugi.

"We can't really find much wrong with her other than she seems fairly stressed. And in being so stressed she has weakened her immune system to the point that something as trivial as a cold practically take her down. Nothing other than sleep and some rest and relaxation can cure this. Her father tells me that she is a dancer and has been working very hard at that lately but he doesn't think that that could be what has caused her to break down like this so suddenly. He couldn't think of anything else but you're her friend. Perhaps you know something that she hasn't told her father. Something that could induce something like this." He looked down at Yugi who was still watching Anzu as she slept on, various monitors beeping in time with the rise and fall of her chest.

His thoughts of course went to what had been happening over the last few days. About Rory Waters and about what had happened in front of Anzu's dance studio. About her running out of Honda's house and the fact that Malik was back. And that now Yami was choosing to make his feelings known to her. Yugi looked at the doctor who was currently placing Anzu's file back in its holder beside the door. "No," he answered finally, "nothing out of the ordinary." Dr. Honjo made a noise in his throat that Yugi couldn't read but he thought it might actually be something close to relief.

"Well in that case I think that we should get you back downstairs so that neither of us get into trouble. Do you remember how we got here?" Yugi nodded mutely still watching Anzu wanting to go in and try to help her. As if sensing Yugi's unrest her continued on to reassure him. "Don't worry about her. She'll be out of here as soon as we get a few tests back. All she really needs is to take it easy for a few day and catch up on her sleep." The doctor turned his dark eyes on Yugi. "I'm sure you're being missed down stairs, besides I have to go get a blood sample from your friend and if you're caught in here without me you could get into a considerable amount of trouble." There was a note in his voice that told Yugi that he had better get going. With one last fleeting look at Anzu, he could feel Yami's gaze linger as well, Yugi turned to leave. Just before reaching the double doors that led out of the ward Yugi looked back once more and saw the doctor prepare to take some Anzu's blood. Yugi felt slightly queasy at the sight and turned away thinking he now understood why Anzu hated hospitals so much.

It never occurred to him that it was an odd thing for a doctor to be taking a blood sample or that his eyes had been strikingly familiar, feminine almost.

In Anzu's quiet room the young 'doctor' stood over Anzu inserting the needle in the exact spot that it had been pressed in earlier. He didn't want any of the medical staff to ask questions about why there was another mark. Withdrawing the needle after taking about half a test tub amount of blood he quickly cleaned off the wound and replaced the bandage perfectly. Transferring the blood from the needle to the vile took only half a moment, as did the disposal of the needle and any other sources of evidence. Pulling a briefcase from its hiding spot under Anzu's bed he knelt down and placed the blood sample in the specially designed case that kept it both cool and secure. He next pulled down what one would think was the lining of the briefcase but instead held a kit of source. Pulling out the materials he was about to open up a small black case when he head voices in the hallway. Cursing under his breath everything thing was cleaned up in what seemed like half a second then booth the briefcase and the doctor were hidden under the bed. The door opened a moment later and stayed open after two pairs of feet enter and walked to the side of the bed that the hidden doctor had been on just seconds before.

As the two new arrivals conversed the 'doctor' under the bed thought quickly. Briefcase in hand, he slid soundless in one movement on the white hospital floor and then stood up quickly and just as quietly as he had across the floor. The motion caught the two doctors eye though neither seemed to be bothered by it. Both just looked at him as if he had been there the whole time.

"What can I do for you Dr. Tohsaku?" one asked.

" Just dropping these results off for you," she said handing a file folder to the doctor across the bed who smiled.

"You and your staff always do such great work down in the lab. Thank you." The blonde haired lab technician returned the smile.

"Not a problem. Well I had better be getting back," she bowed to the two who did the same and then she left. The doctor who had received the file watched her thoughtfully for a moment and then turned to her colleague.

"Was her hair that short earlier?"

Meanwhile the woman in question had ducted into a bathroom and quickly locked the door. She was thanking every deity that she knew of that people were so dense. Why the hell would a lab tech be wearing a surgeon's uniform, like the one that Dr. Honjo had worn? It would have been so simple if that boy, Mouto or whatever the hell his name was hadn't caught her in the nurse uniform. She was lucky that she was able to change so quickly and disguise herself as best she could. She had almost forgotten to put in her color contacts in her haste and could curse herself for how sloppy she was. Taking on the surgeon's persona had been easy but getting rid of the boy had to be handed delicately. She couldn't give him any reason not to trust in Anzu's well being. It was just a lucky convince that the nurse he had knocked over looked a deal like her.

But her job was only half done. She cursed under her breath quite a few times. She had been right there, the ink case in her hand to take Anzu's fingerprints but then the two doctors had walked in. She was lucky that the wig she had chosen for Dr. Honjo had been close enough to the color of the lab technician Tohsaku though she had a feeling she hadn't let the wig out enough. Flipping quickly through her directory of the hospital personal Rory swore softly and quickly placed it back into her briefcase which she now covered and attacked a strap to so that it resembled more of a messenger bag. She then quickly changed out of the surgeon's uniform and into the outfit she had originally come in-as a local med student who would be starting her residency at the hospital soon. After replacing her contacts with harsh pink ones and tucking her hair up into her baseball cap Hikaru Mizutani unlocked the door and proceeded down stairs, right past Yugi Mouto who was lost in his own thoughts, and the security officer who was looking for a Dr. Tohsaku impersonator. 'This is was almost too easy' Rory thought letter her hair down. 'Either that or I'm getting too good' she thought with a cocky smirk. Readjusting her grip on her bag Rory set off.

Later that night, much to her father's protest Anzu sat curled up on her couch, watching a horror movie from America. Something about an inbred village and a mass murderer with a chainsaw. Jou looked as if he was going to be sick and seemed to be twitching involuntarily. Honda sat next to Anzu on the coach and only gave away that the movie was getting to him by his unblinking eyes and the death grip he had on a pillow. Yugi seemed fairly scared as well and jumped every so often knocking in to Anzu whom her sat in front of on the floor. She wanted to enjoy the movie, she really did but her mind just kept wandering away thinking things like 'I can't believe I missed a whole day of dance.' So to make up for it she was going though each step of each scene and act of the original recital she was staring in her mind. She was about halfway through the third scene when Jou suddenly grabbed onto, and unfortunately for both of them Anzu had been stretching at the time and Jou's dive had driven him into her chest. Without a moment's hesitation Anzu let out a scream and slap Jou hard upside his head which resulted in him going head long into the floor, face diving into the floor next to a very confused Yugi.

"Jou!!" Anzu screamed at him standing up.

"What are you yelling about?! You're the one who hit me!"

"I believe that was justified," Anzu yelled back.

"I was a scary part! I can't stand this stuff!"

"Then why the hell are we watching it!" They went on like for a few minutes more, Yugi trying to get a word in to stop the fighting. Honda still hadn't moved when suddenly the lights went on.

"What is all this screaming about?" a very confused Kenji Mazaki asked entering the room. "This is supposed to be a nice relaxing night."

"Jou was trying to assault me daddy," Anzu sad easily with a hint of mischief in her eye that Yugi had not seen in a while. Her father turned slowly to Jou who looked more frightened now then he had during the movie.

"I ah ee umm….it, it was an accident!" Jou finally concluded in his defense. Now standing Yugi shot a look at Anzu when she heard him stifle a giggle. Turning back to the situation that was about to explode Yugi was distracted when Anzu suddenly grabbed his arm and motioned to the door. Not really understanding what she wanted Yugi looked at her confused as Anzu rolled her eyes. Instead of just motioning to the door Anzu dragged him toward it, away from her father and Jou and Honda who still, surprisingly, wasn't moving. The two of them moved to the hall and slid soundlessly out of the house. Anzu gave a healthy sigh and then jumped from the top step of her porch to the ground below.

"God it feels good to be out of that house," Anzu said stretching and looking back at Yugi who was still by the door. "Come on," she said sounding like and impatient child, "lets go for a walk." Yugi looked hesitant.

"Should we? You're not supposed to be doing a lot. You know, relaxing." Anzu frowned at him.

"This will relax me. I'm going crazy in that house anyway." Yugi sighed in defeat and joined her down the steps. I was one of the first truly warm nights of the year and both could walk freely without jackets. Moving down the street Anzu looked up at the stars which were surprisingly visible besides the fact that they were in a city.

"So you going to tell what is really going on?" Yugi asked testing his luck.

"What do you mean Yugi?" Anzu asked sounding surprisingly confused.

"You know what I mean. You did collapse today because you've been stressed over the dance recital. Its everything else that is going on isn't it?" Both of them looked at each other before turning away in silence. There wasn't a lot that Anzu liked to keep from Yugi and she could feel her chest tightening again at the thought of lying to him once more. Sighing loudly Anzu finally spoke.

"You know that I don't like keeping things from you Yugi, but," she started and Yugi dreaded the 'but' she hung on. He feared that she was going to say that she had to this time but she surprised him. "But I need to tell you but please, don't tell Jou or Honda and especially not my father. This has got to stay between us. Promise?" she said stinking out her pinky finger, something they used to do other when they were young. Yugi happily hooked it with his own, happy that she was finally ready to talk.

"Well you see," Anzu said taking a breath and lunching into her story, "it doesn't have to do just with Rory. She started it yes, but its not all her. She came up to me one day and told me that she thought that I was an American named Tea Gardner who had been kidnapped when I was young and brought here to Japan." Yugi looked like he wanted to speak but Anzu just shook her head. "Don't stop me Yugi or it may never come out. Anyway its totally crazy right? I mean there is no way I could be anyone but my mom and dad's girl. But the thing is it isn't that crazy." Anzu paused but kept walking her eyes down cast on the ground. Yugi didn't speak but just kept in stride with her. "Its just that she answered a lot of unanswered questions for me. She brought up a lot of good points, she explains the dreams and the memories…" she trailed off for a second. "But that's not just it. My dance recital that's coming up isn't just any recital. There are going to be a lot of talent scouts that Mika called in just for me. I could finally get that big break. And then there's Malik," out of the corner of her eye she saw his eyes flicker just so much in a sign Anzu couldn't decipher. "I know as much as you guys don't like him but I still think he needs a chance despite the way he has acted. He really is a good guy even though he didn't show it at first. I mean would he have conceded in that last duel if he didn't have a shred of good in him would he?" She looked over at him and expected an answer but he just kept walking and didn't look at her. She stopped. "I shouldn't have told you." She said slowly. He stopped a few feet in front of her and looked back.

"You should have told me earlier," he told her simply. " God Anzu, it explains so much of why you've been acting this way lately. I mean you've had a complete personality switch over the past week. To say I was worried is an understatement. But I'm also glad in a way. The fact that you even told me, well…it means a lot to me Anzu."

"Yugi," Anzu whispered and in a moment she had thrown herself at her shorter friend. She wrapped her arms around him, Yugi steady himself from the impact and then returned her hug. He could feel dampness on his shoulder and realized she was crying.

"Don't, don't cry Anzu" Yugi said trying to consul her.

"No Yugi," she said drawing away and whipping her tears away, "I'm happy. I'm so happy that you are my friend and that I can trust you so much. You're my best friend in the world. I can't believe I ever kept this from you but I really didn't want you mixed up in my mess." Yuig shook his head as she finished.

"How much have we been through that you have stuck by me with out questioning any thing. You never have to worry about me not being there for you Anzu."

She smiled at him. "Come on," he said, "I think we've been gone long enough. You're dad must be done reaming Jou by now." Anzu giggled and followed him home.

The next morning Anzu did something very out of character. She slept in and didn't feel guilt about it. She then made a huge brunch for her and her father and never looked at a calorie count. Then slipping into a bathing suit top and a pair of shorts she went to sunbathe in the back yard. Around one o'clock however she had an itch she couldn't get rid of and now she was arguing with her father over what she saw as a cure for said itch.

"Please Dad, just for two or three hours?" Anzu pleaded with her father over the kitchen table.

"No Anzu. You need to rest and dancing is not included in that."

"Two hours?"

"No."

"One?"

"No Anzu and that's final," he said standing up and making to leave the room.

"If you don't let me go the studio then I'm just going to do it here!" she yelled after him. Her words made him stop and he turned around.

"You will not, I forbid it," he said sternly.

"What are you going to do? Tie me to a chair? Come on if I go the studio Mika can keep an eye on me for you and make sure I don't over do it." She walked up to him and held her hands in front of her in a pleading act. "Please Dad, I need to work back into it and I can't miss this recital. Please Dad its really, really important to me." She gave him her best puppy dog eyes hoping to wear him down. Finally he sighed in defeat.

"Fine but I'm driving there and talking to Mika myself," he said sternly. Ignoring his tone Anzu gave a little squeal of delight and dashed upstairs.

Half an hour later Anzu couldn't help but smile as she stretched in front of the large mirror in one of the smaller rooms in the dance studio ignoring the scowl her instructor gave her.

"You know," Anzu sculled mockingly, "if you keep making faces like that it will stick that way." Standing up Anzu gave herself a little shake and walked over to where a small boom box sat in the corner. It was tiny but the noise would echo nicely against the polished wooden floor. She was calmly looking through her CD book trying to find the one she wanted when Mika's voice broke into her thoughts.

" This is just plain stupid Anzu. You collapsed yesterday. You should be resting not dancing."

"Oh come on Mika, you starting to sound like my father," Anzu told her and she could hear a tiny snort in response. Laugh to herself Anzu hit the play button and stood, strode to the middle of the room and faced the mirror. Mika was still sitting on the floor scowling. "Now you're starting to look for my father."

"So you going to tell me what's up?" she asked ignoring the previous comment. Anzu shot a questioning look over her shoulder. "Your father happened to mention that the show was the cause of your stress and that I should consider taking you out." Anzu spun around so quickly that the treads on her dance shoes made a squeaking noise of protest. "Don't worry, I would never take you out of this. But the thing is that I know something else besides the 'boy troubles' you told me about earlier. Cause I know it can't be dance. You are putting yourself through the same stress you always put yourself through before a major show. And I would have noticed if your dancing was off. I do have to say that over the past couple of days that you've been dancing with a bit more passion than usual. Anything up?" Anzu chewed on her lower lip in anxiety. Telling Yugi was one thing but despite how much she looked up to Mika she just couldn't tell her. As if sensing this Mika went onto a different subject. "Have you decided what you are going to do for your independent piece yet?"

"Hmmm" Anzu mused.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Mika asked raising an eyebrow.

"Both"

"Care to indulge me?"

"Sure," Anzu said walking back over to the boom box and skipping a few songs ahead. A few moments of pianos and violins started the song off before a soft male voice filled the room as Anzu pieced together some of the preliminary moves she had thought of earlier.

_I've dealt with my ghosts _

And I've faced all my demons  
Finally content with a past I regret  
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness  
For once I'm at peace with myself  
I've been burdened with blame

_Trapped in the past for too long  
I'm moving on _

_I've lived in this place and I know all the faces  
Each one is different but they're always the same  
They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it  
They'll never allow me to change  
But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong  
I'm moving on _

_I'm moving on _

_At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me  
And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone  
There comes a time in everyone's life  
When all you can see are the years passing by  
And I have made up my mind that those days are gone_

Even though there was more of the song Anzu stopped. She had caught Mika's face in the mirror. It appeared to be disappointment and possibly confusion.

"What?" Anzu asked turning to face her. Mika looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Its just, that it isn't right. Well it is right and it's a beautiful song but not exactly right for right now. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"No, no I really don't think I do," Anzu responded honestly.

"Well," Mika said stretching her arms, "it's a nice set of moves and I know that you can relate to that song. A lot of people probably can even though it was originally an English song right?" Anzu nodded mutely watching Mika waiting for some give away. "But the thing that this is supposed to be a piece that I intended for you to put all of yourself to. It should show you and show what is going on in you at the time. Follow?" Anzu nodded only slightly too lost n her own thoughts. She knew what Mika was saying. She had to find something that wasn't just pretty to dance to but something that would connect her with the whole audience. Mika, meanwhile was watching Anzu and practically reading her thoughts by the expression on her face. "Don't worry. You'll get it," she said rising up from the floor and twisting all of the kinks out. "Now don't work too hard. I'll be back to check in on you in a half an hour."

Mika knew that she wouldn't dance much now. In fact when she did peek in an hour later Anzu was lying on her back staring up at the ceiling one of her god awful mixes playing. Meanwhile Anzu lay in deep thought. She knew what she had to dance for and how but she didn't have song and wasn't sure she had the courage to anyway.

Malik punched the wall for the second time that day and it had the same results as before. He was still frustrated and angry and to add insult to injury his hand really, really hurt. But he wasn't sure there was much else he could do. He was too prideful to go and actually talk to and apologize to Anzu but it was the only thing on his mind. It was almost a week ago that he had had his 'discussion' with her in front of her school. And then the damn pharaoh had walked off with her. Feeling his temper rising again he punched the wall once more and was fairly certain that he had broken his hand. Shaking it in hopes to easing the pain Malik walk into his tiny kitchen in his tiny apartment, when to the tiny fridge and pulled out a tray of ice.

Mumbling incoherently under his breath he struggled for a moment to get the cubes out of the plastic and place them into a waiting towel. Wrapping up the cubes Malik gingerly placed it on his hand wincing only slightly. As much as he would like to concentrate on his injured hand but his mind kept wandering to someone. Two someone's really but one of them was dominating his mind. During the events of battle city when the darkness in him that killed his father and drove him against the ways of his family there was something that always puzzled him. And that had to focus on one of his adversary's friends. How could she just have been a friend? How could the two of them not notice that they practically fell over themselves in each other presence yet when he had searched the girl's mind there was no knowledge of the pharaoh's obvious affection for her.

And the pharaoh? He was obviously head over heels for her but didn't seem to realize it. It was at point that Malik had decided that the girl was going to be worth holding onto as a tool against Yugi Mouto. What better way then to destroy them then to take them out from the inside? But something other than the time he held her captive always rose to the front of his mind and that was the time he spent as Namu. It was only a brief moment but he the girl had accepted him as if she had known him her whole life through. It was an odd sensation, one that he quickly tried to forget. Despite his resolve to do this he found himself taking refuge in her mind while the demon inside of his took control of his physical body. And that he was sure was when his mere fascination with her went from just until possibly more. He wouldn't call it love. He still wasn't sure if he should but his feelings for her grew more powerful each time he say her.

There had been a part of him that was worried when he took her body over one last time to challenge his evil side and if it hadn't been for the girl's friends showing up he probably would have lost and taken her down with him. And that's where the first twinge jealously had risen in him. Her friends were her lifelines and they were prepared to do anything for her and she for them. At the time he didn't realize that he had that in his sister as well as Rishid and even though he knew that it didn't keep him from wanting more. And he wanted that in the form of a girl by the name of Anzu Mazaki, the gem of the pharaoh. But as with most things in his life his timing was off. Apparently he had walked in on some major crisis in Anzu's life as well as the pharaoh getting ready to declare his love for her.

He was hesitant to say that he loved the girl. Jealousy and love were easier to mix up then lust and love. And God knew he lusted for her but hated the nagging in the back of his mind that told him it was just because he wanted to see the pharaoh's heart crushed. Seeing Yami's vessel, Yugi, suffer though had him slightly concerned because the boy had been so quick to forgive him and Malik appreciated that if for nothing else then his sister's sake. But although he knew he was forgiven and released from his fate as a tomb keeper all at the same time he could not help feel some bitterness toward Yami still. After all it was because of him that his family had stayed locked away for all those thousands of years and he had this carving, a constant reminder of his painful childhood, engraved in his back for the rest of his life. If he had not been forced underground then the darkness called Marik would never have even been born. His father would still be alive.

Feeling a sharp pain shoot up his hand Malik looked down and realized that he was gripping the counter and shaking. 'Damn the pharaoh,' he thought, 'just another cause of pain for me.' Even though he was supposed to be loyal to his "master" now Malik would not let that keep him from figuring what was going on between himself and Anzu. He could still remember the smile she had given him on the blimp that last day of Battle City, the one she only gave those how were special to her. He wanted her to smile like that at him again. Since his return to Domino he had yet to see that smile. No, he would not give up. Even though he knew she was probably past giving him second chances by now he had to try. He would apologize but first he needed to go see a doctor. His hand was slowly going numb.

WOW!! Nearly a year later I update. I am so horrible!! I wouldn't be surprised if this story wasn't even liked anymore-I wouldn't like me anymore. So I **_will_** have this story updated as soon as possible! And the next chapter of 'You Wish' **_will _**be out by next Friday(as in a week from the 15th). Hope you all enjoyed this. I finally had to stop myself from writing. I could have finished this story in this chapter if a good friend of mine reminded me of how long ago I had updated. So please please forgive me and hopefully you'll see me real soon.

-Star!


	10. TO10

Not a lot to say for this chapter. At least nothing that I can think of right now! But I do have a tiny winy little warning for this chapter and probably the remaining chapters. Up until this point Rory has been a sort of…well…. a catalyst I guess for lack of a better word. But now, her true character will be starting to come out and things may get a little…violent. Rory is not a good person by most standards that people live by and that will start to show more and more. She does however have a soft spot for Anzu and that becomes more and more apparent as she gets darker then we've seen thus far.

And with that little warning aside on with the tenth chapter!

Her aim was flawless as she shot each egg from their hold in the chain link fence in a secluded part of town that she had found. It was in the early hours in the morning and the dark was still dominant over the struggling morning light. Rory, at the top of a 20-story building, had a nice view of the coming sunrise but paid it no mind as she focused again on the fence below her. She had been at this for nearly two hours now, shooting from different angles, heights, vantage points, trying to keep herself in shape. She shot again and if you hadn't seen her shoot then you might have thought the egg had exploded on its own and Rory had to smile. The silencer worked as well which was fortunate because of the lack of crime in most of Japan. Had she been in New York City or even Los Angeles then the noise might have gone unnoticed this early in the morning. But Rory had to give it to the presence of the Japanese Police who helped to discourage people like Rory from wandering about causing trouble. And causing trouble was indeed what Rory intended to do.

In ten days Rory would do one of two things: either expose both the Gardners and the world to Anzu or she would simply walk away from Domino City without another glance. And the latter was not apart of the plan. She couldn't believe that she would ever consider it but for some reason it really was an option. Rory stopped and looked at the last egg still stuck firmly in the chain. She stood considering everything that had happened in the last week or so. There was fight with Fredrick that probably had her on every major assassins list in word. Rory's relationship with him had always acted as a type safety belt-if someone went after her then they went after Fredrick and no one crossed Fredrick, at least not until now. Rory had dug herself a hole one that was going to take a hell of a lot to get out of. Then there was Seto Kaiba and in just a few days time Kaiba Corporation would be in ruins and it was just for fun-and the money. Then of course there was Anzu Mazaki. Everything revolved around her.

The pattern of life that Rory knew well by now was off beat and the only way she knew to right it was to finish the Gardner case, one way or another. Eyes still trained on the egg Rory raised her gun for one last shot her mind processing many things. She had never failed at anything. No one ever stopped her from reaching her goals. Anzu Mazaki and her emotions were not going to knock her off track. Focus was Rory's main ally right now. She couldn't lose focus- this was just another assignment which was ready to be finished. Rory had put too much time and energy into this already but she would not give up until she was done. She pulled the trigger. The egg exploded. She couldn't help but smile. If only it was as simple as that.

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Feeling fresh after an early morning of target practice Rory had a hard time sitting in her hotel room as she waited for the response to an e-mail she had sent out late last night. On a hunch Rory had e-mailed a man she knew in West Belgium that could let her know about the movements of 'for hire' people like herself in the Balkans. During the "ethnic cleansing" in the late 90's in Kosovo Rory had made herself a few enemies (of those who survived) when she was hired by the British Representative to the UN at the time in conjunction with a senator from the U.S and a hand full of French officials. Rory had been hired to work as a Rogue along side the UN troops to stop Milosevic's efforts at the source. It would be easier for her then conventional troops since she wouldn't be held to UN laws since she wasn't technically a part of the UN-or any country for that matter. One by one with various methods Rory took down major supporters of the dictator and the Serbian troops began to cave from the inside. In her last assignment she was supposed to take out Milosevic himself but things went terribly wrong when Rory was discovered and she fought hard to make it out alive. She did and was now on many major hit lists of the Serbian upper class.

But again that is where the safety net of Fredrick and the Syndication came in. Not that it really stopped the assassination attempts, just deterred them slightly. And now that she was on the shit list she had a hunch that a certain Serbian would be after her. She had taken out his eye and right thumb, taking off her opponent's right thumb was a signature of hers, in their last encounter nearly three years ago but Rory was sure that the memory was still very fresh in the terrorist's mind. Draza Karadzich would do anything to kill Rory and Rory knew that he would find her here which was why she needed to speed things up. (AN: although what happened in Serbia in the late 90's, as scary as it is, is true, the character Draza Karadzich is purely fictional and if I did actually name him after a Serbian militant it was unintentional so please don't hurt me! That is all)

There was a moment or two of pacing before her computer gave out the familiar noise she had been waiting for. Practically leaping on the worn piece of plastic and computer chips Rory opened the email and her heart sank at the length of it. The expression 'no news is good news' applied to her, and too much usually led to problems in Rory's life. Scanning it quickly she was quick to pick out the more important piece of the letter. Short and sweet, would have been better. Most of the letter was speculation as to what Draza was up to and when it came down to it now one really knew where he was. While this was relevant to Rory, obviously, something else in the email caught her attention. It was a rumor that had its origins in Britain about Welsh couple that had adopted a baby online from the states through an online auction site and it was only a matter of time before the whole international community would be in an uproar as soon as the media got wind of it. But what interested Rory was the baby was supposed to be from the Midwest but had flown out of Baltimore, and only Baltimore. Now to the untrained mind this may have seemed normal but there was a hitch that Rory spotted. Why would a person so poor, or so greedy, they had to sell their baby online fly out of one of the most expensive airports in the country? And further more how had they gotten there? Rory's fingers flew across the keyboard as she pulled up various links, web pages along with her own documents.

Rory was the only one in the world who had access to what was known simply as the Core to her. Shortly after the millennium Rory had been in a bad car accident, which was an odd way to become laid up in her line of work but it had happened none the less and she found herself with a surplus of time on her hands. Never one to sit still, even before she had come into the care of Fredrick, Rory had set herself a seemingly impossible task- gathering all of her knowledge and researched everything she thought she could ever need. The result was an ever-growing resource database for her eyes alone. She couldn't count the number of times she had plugged in her thoughts on the Gardner's case and came up with nothing, but maybe this time… and after entering in the auction site and recent article to the Core her answer came to her in a matter of moments. Desperate to prove it, adrenaline coursing through her from excitement, Rory quickly pulled out a pen and pad of paper and drew it out in the physical.

Five pages of timelines, connections, and explanations later Rory sat stunned. After four years of frustrations, leads that led nowhere, and nothing but pure speculation she had in front of her every connection in the Gardner kidnapping. Flipping to the third page Rory traced the timeline of events with her index finger starting at the first known scouting assignment to the day that Tea was delivered to her new parents Yoko and Kenji Mazaki. She could account for nearly every step of the process that had once only been a collection of loose ends for her but now made up a completed web of twists and turn. And with this proof all Rory needed know was the get Anzu's fingerprints and send them out like she had done with the girl's blood sample and her case would be closed. Now while Rory wasn't a very emotional woman that didn't mean she was emotionless and she felt the need to celebrate her current success. She was about to crack open the mini bar in her room when her laptop gave off an urgent beeping- an alarm to Rory.

She practically fell upon the beat up piece of machinery and read the message that was waiting there for her. "No," she gave a tiny sort of whisper that sound more like a gasp. "Not now, not now damn it!" she said louder this time and turned to punch the wall in place of her computer which was very tempting. The Syndication was in motion and it wouldn't be long until every haphazard, would be assign would be on top of her. The DC deal that Fredrick had been trying so hard to have her on had collapsed into ruins and he was mad. Mad at her to be specific and that meant only bad things. Sitting on the edge of her bed staring at the wall with her hands folded in front of her Rory's mathematical and mechanical mind was in a frenzy. She would be ok for the remainder of the week, maybe even longer. Green bounty hunters were smart enough at least to not go after her and all of the seasoned veterans were either good friends or knew that trying to kill her at this point would be suicide. But there was a third category and those were the ones that frightened her because they would come. Young pros in this area of work looking to make a name for themselves would come and Rory was worried that they'd figure out about Anzu.

And then of course there was Draza Karadzich and his unknown agenda- that worried her. Men like that did not just disappear. Rory knew that she could slow down the worst of those that would soon be descending upon Domino City. Even without being in Fredrick's good graces she had a lot of friends in high places, and low for that matter, that she could rely on to help her without her having to send out an SOS. Already she had a plan- she'd let someone through the net she was slowly forming in her mind and kill them in such a way that would hopefully deter all other attempts until the next week and a half was over and hopefully the case of Tea Gardner would be over as well. In the mean time she had a call to make to her friend Jeri to make sure that: 1) her old DNA and fingerprint samples had made it there ok, 2) the new blood sample she had sent had arrived and finally, 3) that Jeri was still alive.

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"Hello"

"Don't hang up"

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Promise you won't hang up?"

"Malik? Malik is that you?"

"Yes…don't hang up!"

"Why would I hang up on you?" Anzu asked the phone. It was later in the same day of Rory's crazy morning and Anzu hand been peacefully been doing her homework when the phone rang. Thinking it was one of the guys with a homework question she had answered ahead of her father. She was glad that she had now; she wasn't sure how her father would react to stranger with such an odd accent asking for her.

"You don't hate me?" came a surprised reply from the other end.

"No, I don't hate you. I'm pretty mad at you right now but I certainly don't hate you. I mean its bad enough what happened earlier this week with Ryo and then you showing up at the school like that. And worst," she paused and Malik prepared for her to yell, "you didn't call or come to see me even once. That kind of hurt, I mean, I thought that if you actually were my friend or wanted to be my friend you'd reach out to me."

"Well, um, it goes both ways you know. Why didn't you try to contact me?" Malik asked though immediately regretting it. He was calling to apologize for his behavior, basically grovel for forgiveness (though he refused to admit he was ready to grovel) and he had already picked a fight with her.

"Well I would have Malik. I honestly would have if I had anyway of getting in contact with you. You're new to the city so you aren't listed anywhere. I don't even know if you have a cell phone and when I tried to have the staff at the museum give me your information they said they couldn't because of museum policy."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're an over achiever?" Malik asked trying to mask the remorse in his voice. All of what she had just said was true, even the museum policy on handing out personal information. "Why were you trying to get in contact with me?" he continued trying to change the subject.

"Why else?" she asked in surprise. "To make sure that you were ok of course."

"You were worried about me?" he asked equally surprised and unknowingly moved. "Why?"

"That's a stupid question Malik," she said getting the normal bounce in her voice back for the first time in their conversation. "I worry about all of my friends, especially when we left things how we left things. I know that we haven't known each other for a very long time Malik but I thought that you knew and understood the type of person I am when it comes to my friends."

"I do and, and, and I'm sorry Anzu for everything. About what happened with Bakura and knocking you down and what happened at your school, even if part of it was the Pharaoh's fault." (AN: Because this story takes place just a little while after Battle City then I am making it so that the characters don't know the Yami's real name is Atem. In future stories I will probably use that name just cause I like it better then Yami. That's all!)

"That's not really fair Malik. You can't blame what happened between us on Yami. That's just an excuse," Anzu reprimanded wondering just how much Malik really did dislike Yami. During the short amount of time Anzu and the others had gotten to know Malik after the Battle City Finals he seemed, to Anzu at least, like a very kind and nice person who obviously was remorseful for all that he had done. Anzu couldn't blame him for the darkness that had been born in him but she could also tell that Malik still held feelings other then reverence for the former Pharaoh. And now, as she got to know him more Anzu could tell that he still blamed the Pharaoh for the servitude of his family and all that had resulted from it. She couldn't really argue that point but at the same time Yami had never intentionally tried to hurt the Ishtars, it was just a bad set of circumstances. She heard Malik exhale on the other end of the line and she waited for him to respond.

"Lets not get into that right now," he told her. "I called to apologize and I don't want to get into another fight with you." The tone in his voice caught Anzu by surprise and she could almost see him blushing and she in return blushed as well grateful that he couldn't see her. "I…I am glad that you aren't angry at me," he continued, "cause umm, just because I suppose." As soon as he said those words, despite the fact that they really made no sense, that Anzu felt something warm inside her that she didn't understand and felt a tremor in her body that she hadn't experienced before. There was silence between them for a few immeasurable moments before Malik suddenly said "Can you meet with me right now?"

Anzu looked down first at her unfinished homework and then at the clock which read just after 4 o'clock. She should stay and finish her homework or go see Yugi or anything else but her heart for some reason felt as if it would rip from her chest if she didn't go see him. "Yea, yes where do you want to meet?" she asked slightly breathless.

"Is the museum too far for you? Or we could get something to eat or something," he suggested sounding the way she felt. But something about getting something to eat seemed to 'dateish' for her. She just wanted to see him, which was different from a date right? Unsure of herself, Anzu shook her head to clear her mind before saying that she'd meet him at the museum in about a half an hour. Anzu quickly changed out of her boy shorts and t-shirt, an outfit perfect for doing nothing around the house but not for meeting someone, and changed into a pair of jean caprices and a short sleeved blouse along with a denim jacket. A quick touch up of make up and a brush through her hair had her ready to go but there was still one problem.

"Daddy?" she started in the sweetest voice she could muster. Her father who wasn't currently in his study going over some bills looked up at his daughter who was clearly dressed up to go out.

"What is it sweetheart?" he asked keeping his attention on his teenage daughter.

"Would it be ok if I went out to meet a friend at the museum?"

"Of course," he told her with a smile before turning his eyes back to his desk. "Which of your friends are you going to meet? Yugi? Or that younger girl, Shizuka was her name right?"

"Ah, yeah that's her name but I'm going to meet a new friend. He's ah, err, a new transfer student at school and we kind of hit it of." Now the words 'transfer student' or 'new friend' wouldn't have really affected her father but she knew that mentioning that Malik was indeed a 'he' would have some aftereffect and it did. Her father, it seemed, was having a delayed reaction because it took a solid thirty seconds for him to react.

"New boy friend?" he asked trying to sound as casual as possible. "And you're meeting him alone?"

"We're just going to the museum Daddy. Nice, open, public place," she said knowing where his mind was going.

"Still," Kenji Mazaki continued in a very business like manner, "I think I would like to meet him before this date."

"Its not date!" Anzu protested. "Please Dad, I'm going to be late and I don't have his cell phone number so I can't call him to cancel and I don't want him thinking that I ditched him." She said all of this in one breath and her father could only stare at her with a slight bit of wonder.

"Alright," he finally caved, "but be home by six please. You have school tomorrow so you shouldn't be out too late."

"Thanks Dad," she said giving him a hug and then slipping from the room.

"Do you have your cell phone?" he called after her.

"Of course," she yelled from the door her mind already consumed. As she began to jog in the direction of the museum she couldn't help being so happy about finally seeing Malik again but at the same time couldn't stop herself from having some second thoughts at the same time. After all she felt as if she were running into this blindly and wasn't quite sure what to expect from Malik. Perhaps she was reading to far into her own feelings for Malik and was just blowing everything out of proportion. She slowed down to a walk for the rest of the trip to the museum lost in her own thoughts. What exactly was happening between her and Malik and more importantly what was she feeling inside? She was frightened to think about feeling this strongly about anyone, at least in this way. Even when her crush on the other Yugi began it wasn't this, well, intense for lack of a better word. 'I'm really over reacting here,' Anzu counseled herself upon reaching the museum unsure if she should even be here. 'I'm certain that anything happening between me and Malik is,' but she didn't finish her thought as a pair of strong tanned arms wrapped around her and drew her body from behind into his.

"I didn't realize," he said huskily into her ear when she didn't fight him or turn away, "how very much I wanted to see you." Anzu just couldn't say anything to that. It summed up everything that she was really thinking anyway instead her eyes settled on his arms pressed to her.

"Malik," she finally said unaware of the stares passersby were giving them, "what did you do to your hand?" Her fingers ran along the ace bandage that adorn his left hand and his resulting chuckle sent chills up her spine. How on earth had she fallen so hard and fast? She had been so certain that she was in love with Yami the moment she had heard his voice that first time when she was being held hostage. But Malik had such a power over her that had nothing to do with the millennium rod. "No really," she asked again trying to regain some control, "what did you do to your hand?" Malik finally released her and she turned to look at him. He grinned sheepishly before saying,

"I punched a wall." Anzu blinked in surprise not at the response. Since when had Malik turned so, so… well normal? She knew that he still had some 'darker' tendencies; she had seen that more then not since he'd come to Domino. But here in the sunlight of a beautiful Sunday afternoon he looked like some one that Anzu could have grow up with and for a moment she thought of him as his alter ego Namu. "What?" he asked noting her expression.

"Its nothing, I was just thinking that you looked like how I first meet you. You know, as Namu." Anzu didn't know why but for some reason that seemed to strike a cord with him and he looked uncomfortable for a moment.

"Lets not talk about that right now," he said taking her hand in his one good one and turned them toward the museum, "I want to show you the exhibit that Isis and I have been working on since Battle City." Anzu let him lead her along but she could help thinking in the back of her mind, 'Lets not talk about that was becoming a common line for him.' Once inside the shade of the museum however she let it slip from her mind as he steered her around the various exhibits. After some time, her curfew ticking closer, she asked him,

"Where's your exhibit? I thought that's why you came back to Domino?" He gave her a sly look.

"That's one of the reasons I came back to Domino," he said giving her hand a squeeze and Anzu could feel the blush covering her face.

"I've got to get going soon. My dad wanted me back at six," she explained noting the look of disappointment on his face and blushing once again.

"Alright, I'll take you back to the exhibit and then I'll walk you home." Anzu expected him to steer her to the back of the museum where they hadn't yet gone but to her surprise he led her to the closed off upstairs. "It hasn't opened yet," he explained before she could get the question out, "so we can just get a special sneak peek. When they reached the top of the stairs he flicked on the hall light and a face appeared out of what looked like and office on their right.

"Ah, Mr. Ishtar," the man said with a heavy accent that Anzu couldn't identify, "I thought maybe it was some lost tourist again. I had to turn two away earlier and tell them that this floor wasn't opened as of now. I don't think my Japanese was quite clear though they looked very confused. But who his your lovely young friend here?" Anzu could feel her face flush but hoped if didn't show to the stranger, an older man that had obviously been quite a sight in his youth because even now, Anzu guessed about sixty, she could see he had been a heartbreaker of sorts.

"Oh, that was rude of me. Dr. Borkowski this is my friend Anzu Mazaki, a local here in Domino. Anzu this is Dr. Gene Borkowski, one of the foremost experts on the Dynasties of the Middle Kingdom in Ancient Egypt. He's been working with my sister and I on the exhibit that'll be opening here in two weeks."

"Its very nice to meet you Dr. Borkowski," she said politely stumbling slightly over his last name. He seemed to notice that but was enough of a gentleman to not point it out.

"As it is with you Ms. Mazaki. But I won't keep you two any longer. I was just on my way out," he told them. "Shall I lock up or do you need to get into the office Malik?"

"That's ok Doctor but we're just going to take a quick look around. I won't need the office today."

"Very good. If that's all I'll leave you two to your private tour." Something about the way he said 'private' made Anzu slightly uncomfortable, as if he were insinuating something. The three said goodbye and Malik led Anzu to the left and through another door. He threw on another light switch and a display of chaos greeted them though Malik didn't seem surprised at all. Carefully packed crates were stacked waiting to be open, though a few had, and half finished displays were placed haphazardly about the room. Anzu wasn't really sure what to say but Malik seemed amused.

"So what do you think?" he asked stepping over some boxes into the center of the room while Anzu hung back. "I know it needs a little straightening up but otherwise…" he trail off unable to keep a straight face any longer after seeing the almost pained expression on hers. "You are very gullible Anzu," he said with a few powerful laughs, "this is just a work room. Over there," he motioned behind him at another door, "is where everything will be."

"Oh," was all that Anzu could manage as she stepped into the room to going him. "Can we see it?" He smiled at her sweetly.

"Of course," he told her. One more doorway and another light switch and Anzu was greeted with more of what she expected. There were only a few complete displays and a few nearly done, and a handful started. Anzu examined the room which was mostly barren and stretched down what seemed the length of the museum.

"Are you using this whole room?" she asked hearing it echo back softly off of white walls.

"Yup, we've got more coming in next week along with those in the other room. That'll be a staging area, an introduction point I guess you could call it." Anzu nodded in understanding and moved toward one of the completed displays and read the card.

"Title: Offering Bearers, Medium: Painted Wood, Period: Middle Kingdom, Dynasty: VX." (AN: this is an actual piece that I learned about in Art History this semester but for the life of me I can't remember the Dynasty. So I made it up….have a problem with it then sue me, on second thought don't) Anzu read off of an index card taped to the glass. Malik came over to join her and fingered the paper card.

"Like I said, we're still getting going."

"Are you excited about it? Isn't your first museum opening?" Anzu asked straightening up to meet his eyes. He gave a shrug.

"Its nothing new. I've been around this kind of stuff my entire life. The only difference is that I'm making it pretty to show other people." He stepped away from her toward the window and Anzu wondered for a panicked moment that she had brought up the painful memories of his childhood. She was about to apologize when he stopped before the window and stooped so that he could open up on the crates and pulled out a case. Anzu came over curious as to what he was doing and peeked over his shoulder. She watched as Malik's skilled fingers worked to combinations of the lock and then lifted the top open to reveal a piece of jewelry like none she had ever seen. It was a simply crafted golden chocker that briefly reminded her of the millennium item Isis had once worn. But what made it unique to Anzu were the gems worked into it: perfect oval pieces in alternating colors of black and a shade of blue that reminded Anzu of the deep ocean.

"What are the stones in it?" Anzu asked curious.

"The black ones are black opals, very rare. And the darker blue ones are called lapis lazuli; they were used a lot in Egyptian jewelry." He then opened the clear cover of the case and lifted it out. "Would you like to try it on?" he asked innocently enough but Anzu still jumped back as if he had suddenly shouted.

"Me? Wear that? No Malik, that's not even funny put it away," she ordered him seriously. He did as he was told and replaced the necklace in the crate it had come from.

"Why were you so against that?" he asked coming to stand next to her at the next display she had quickly walked to.

"That's just weird Malik. That belonged to someone thousands of years ago and I'd feel like I was disrupting their spirit if I wore it." She didn't want to say that she had immediately thought of Yami and if he knew if something like that happened to possessions of his past life. Malik seemed to sense her unease and put his arm around her waist to pull her to his chest.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you." Even after his apology he continued to hold her tight to his chest and Anzu couldn't help think how it didn't feel as nice and comfortable as earlier in the afternoon. She pulled away a little with the intent to speak but he apparently took it as another meaning. His lips covered her in a much more possessing sort of kiss then the one he had given her in the hallway at her school. She had no way to pull away from this one so she gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck. He took a moments break from her lips which allowed Anzu to catch her breath quickly but it hitched suddenly, not because of where his lips had wandered on her neck but that his hands were slowly making there way up from her waist under her shirt.

"Mal," was all she could get out in protest before his lips were on hers again asking for more that she unwillingly gave because she was too shocked by what his hands were doing. Her hands unwound from his neck to deal with the problem but she hadn't realized that he was her main source of balance and as she tripped backwards her feet got caught up a few of the empty boxes and she would have gone completely down if not for Malik's wandering hands. Amazingly his lips had barely left hers as she started to tumble down and he continued to help her to floor until she was lying on the cool wooden surface, most of his weight spread over her. Now for Anzu this was just beginning to be too much. She pulled her lips from his but that didn't seem to deter either his lips that caressed her jaw or his hands that were now finding the under wire of her bra. "Malik!" she called getting his full name out this time but he still didn't seem to register her voice. "Malik please stop," she said again but still had no result so she struggled under him but that only seemed to encourage him. Every lesson she had ever learned about fighting off attackers and every move she had ever made up on the spot were flying through her mind but the way he had her arms and body pinned didn't allow her many options. "Malik please," she tried again before he was on her mouth again. Tears were beginning to fall from her eyes while she worked one hand free. She was about to strike him when a noise brought them both out of their own little world.

"Oh, Mr. Ishtar. I'm very, very sorry," came the plea of a very surprised member of the cleaning crew. He was gone in a moment and Malik was suddenly off of her. Anzu sat up and stared away from him unsure of what to say or do. A minute or two of silence passed before Anzu finally looked over at him. He was on his knees, hands set on them as if to brace himself while he stared at the floor. Another few minutes of silence passed before Anzu finally stood.

"I need to get home," she told him making for the door. She had made it to the stairs before he caught up with her, catching her arm and spinning her toward him. "Please let go Malik. I'm going to be late."

"Just, just let me apologize. I don't know what came over me there. I just lost control but that's no excuse." His eyes were wide and stricken and if Anzu had been able to read his mind she would have seen that he was panicked that he had lost her for good this time.

"Should I take that as I complement?" Anzu asked lamely trying to force some amusement into her voice.

"Anzu I," he said but couldn't seem to think of anything else to say. He let go of if grip on her arm and looked away from her awaiting her explosion but what she said surprised him greatly.

"Its not so much what you did," she said not meeting his eyes but taking his good hand in both of hers, "but that you didn't listen to me." She looked up to him, her eyes brimming with tears. He sucked in his breath.

"I would understood if you never forgave me," he said eyes down cast in shame. Anzu then shocked him again by ducking under his downcast face and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"I had a great time," she told him, "until then. But still a great time." She finally let go of his hand and made his way quickly out of the museum. When she would look back on that day later in her life she realized how foolish she had been. At the time it had been so wrong that he had nearly forced himself on her and she had brushed it off, convinced that she loved him then so much that it made it ok. Many more things would come to pass in Anzu life that would make her realize that it wasn't love that she was feeling that day but instead the effects of wanting so badly for it to be love.

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She was guilty. She was feeling so guilty that she was having some difficulty functioning in school the next day. But why was she feeling so guilty? The answer to her thought evaded her throughout her morning classes. She processed it over and over in her mind. Jonouchi, Honda, Yugi, and even Ryo were her very dear friends. They would understand if she had feelings for someone that they were…less then fond of. Jonouchi was just hot headed when it came to situations like this for some reason for another and of course he and Honda played off of one another so she could see some conflict there. With sweet and wonderful Ryo she couldn't see many problems there, if anything she would have bet on him to be her greatest ally if it wasn't for his yami. Despite the fact that the 'alliance' that had been formed during Battle City was between Marik and Bakura(or at least that's how Anzu perceived it) for some reason Malik and Bakura had it out for one another. There were things there that Anzu didn't know about and frankly didn't care to but she would soon know. And then there was Yugi.

Anzu didn't really like to admit it but she could be very dense to certain things and one of those things was how Yugi felt about her. Jonouchi had mentioned it casually one day to her as if she already knew that Yugi had a huge crush on her. Of course she had already figured out just by the way he acted that he had different sort of feelings for her but she hadn't realized it was on the level that it was. She wondered now, during her quest for answers, whether he still had strong feelings for her. Anzu hoped not, all she need was for a more complicated situation. And of course with Yugi came Yami and with Yami came for Anzu a mass amount of confusion. Had he approached her two weeks earlier about possibly being more than friends she would have simply melted. But she just couldn't keep Malik out of her head despite the way he had acted. He was like an infection in her mind that was starting to have the same cloudy and heavy feeling it had before she passed out.

And yet she could still say she loved Yami. Yes, loved him. She wasn't really sure when she had come to the conclusion that she did, in all actuality love him, but she knew she loved him all the same. But she wondered if it was possible to be in love with two people at once. And that was why she concluded she was feeling so guilty- because everything always came back to Yugi and therefore back to Yami. Anzu was prepared to let all of this disappear from her mind for lunch at least but she never made it to lunch. After being held behind in class in regards to a quiz grade Anzu was late and wandering through the empty halls toward the cafeteria when she felt the tap on the shoulder. Turing Anzu came face to face with who at first glance she thought was Ryo but quickly realized it wasn't. A moment of fear over took her but she blinked and the image of the tomb robber within Ryo was gone leaving only her friend. Anzu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Ryo. You startled me." She paused and looked him over. He seemed to be a bit more disheveled then usual. "Are you ok Ryo?" she asked concerned. He looked at her for a moment as if seriously considering her question. His eyes connected with hers for one breathless moment and Anzu wasn't sure for a second time if she was actually talking to Ryo.

"Do you have a minute Anzu?" he asked in a scratchy voice that didn't seem to be his own and Anzu felt so taken aback that she literally took a step back.

"Ryo what's wrong?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder as if to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. It seemed to work because he suddenly snapped up straight.

"Yeah, ah, sorry. But do you have a minute? I have an odd sort of request." Anzu looked at his oddly, analyzing him but nodded yes. Taking the initiative Ryo took her by the hand and guided her into the closest empty classroom which was fairly easy to find because nearly everyone was out enjoying the nice day. Anzu settled herself in a seat while Ryo sat on the desk opposite of her. Another moment or two passed as Ryo seemed to struggle with the words and Anzu sat patiently in waiting. Finally he spoke. "Ok, hear me out. This is going to sound crazy but um, my yami wants to talk to you." Anzu didn't know how to react for a moment before spitting out the word, "why?". Again Ryo seemed to struggle with himself and Anzu finally recognized the same look Yugi got when he was talking to Yami and Anzu was sure that Ryo was talking to his yami.

Hesitantly Anzu finally said, "Its ok Ryo, I'll talk to him. As long as he isn't planning on killing me or anything." Anzu was half serious. She knew that Ryo would never intently allow his Yami to harm her but the memory of the spat that Bakura and Ryo had the other day was still fresh in her. Before Ryo was able to express his obvious gratitude he was gone and Anzu was left staring at the Spirit she knew only as Bakura. He seemed to regard her for a second with his cold, killing eyes before showing some hints of relaxing. Anzu chewed her lip nervously waiting for him to start, not wanting to push him but also to get this over with as soon as possible.

"This is stupid," he said causing Anzu to jump from her thoughts.

"What's stupid?" Anzu inquired.

"Thinking that there was any point in talking with you about Malik." He seemed ready to leave her but Anzu wasn't ready to let him go.

"Wait a sec," she commanded standing up from her chair, "what is this about Malik?" What surprised her was not his answer

" I wanted to talk to you about getting it into his thick head that I made a deal with the darkness that was within him. Not with 'him' how he currently is." Anzu stood transfixed for a moment. What had surprised her was not his answer but the look on his face. Something that Anzu could only label as nervousness or insecurity, two things that Anzu was surprised to know he possessed.

"Why me?" she asked trying to swallow though her mouth seemed paper dry. He looked at her again with his usual stony/mad expression.

"I would think that would be obvious. He obviously has a claim on you, one he wants to make clear to the pharaoh," he spat the last word but that's not what angered Anzu. It was the word 'claim' and how he had said it, making her sound like a prize and not a human being.

"What do you mean claim?" Anzu snapped. The spirit chuckled darkly and Anzu felt the normal shiver she had come to associate the spirit with run up and down her spine. He looked at her seriously leaning closer as he spoke.

"Claim my dear, to those like me, means exactly as it sounds. You are claimed. No one else should be permitted to touch you, look at you, or be near you without consent. Malik once chose the God Cards for this but now he is obviously directing his attention to you." Anzu blushed deep crimson as he spoke thinking of Malik's actions the day before. Had that been his intent? To staked _that_ sort of claim on her? To her it sounded so medieval but of course Malik had never been exposed to, well anything, before Battle City. Perhaps he thought that was how his courtship should be? Another laugh brought Anzu back to her senses as she looked up at Bakura who was currently towering over her which surprised her because she hadn't realized that she had sat back down. "Understand what I mean now?" he asked not expecting an answer.

"Anyway," he continued, "tell him to keep out of my business. I have much more important things to do then to deal with a spat from a person like him."

"A person like him," she repeated applying Malik to the words that Bakura had just used. She looked up at him to question him again but he was already gone along with Ryo's body. Gathering herself Anzu groaned as she looked at the wall clock noticing she only had ten minutes or so to get any lunch for herself. She was so distracted that when as she left the classroom she didn't notice Bakura still blatantly watching her from down the hall. It amused him that this plain girl, a nobody really, could be the center of attention for two of the most influential people in his second life.

You had to be an idiot not to notice that Malik had had intentions for her all along otherwise he would have kept his mind in Jonouchi's head because he would have had better access to the pharaoh. Of course this was before Bakura had hidden some of himself in the puzzle, otherwise he too would have thought to use Anzu. And although Malik had used her initially Bakura knew it wasn't because he knew of the Spirit of the Puzzle's feelings for the girl. Bakura would have had liked to investigate more but more important things had to be done. A love triangle could wait until later. (AN: This is not going to become a Bakura/Anzu fic just so you know. Also there will be no attempts from Bakura to steal the items in this story. What he is thinking of in the above passage is his next move. He will return in the story later- in two chapters I think- but in a very different roll, I believe, then he had played before)

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**AN**: Ok not much to say except I thought that I had already put a tenth chapter out! So when people started asking for a tenth chapter I thought they may have considered the first chapter a prolog and that's why there were only nine! Well I'm an idiot. The originally chapter actually goes on for a lot longer. And I was initially going to publish it as one big chapter but it was taking too longer to finish. So another chapter will be out tomorrow or the next day. The next chapter of You Wish maybe out by the end of the weekend- but I'm moving out this Sunday and working all day Saturday so I'm not 100 sure. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this short little chapter, though looking at it now its 13 pages on word so that's not super short. Ok then.. Ja!

Star


	11. TO11

Chapter Warning! This chapter might get a little violent for some people. I tried to keep it as toned down and non-descriptive as possible but still maintaining some of the reality. Trying to keep this a 'T' rating but if I get complaints I'll change it. That's all! Enjoy!

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For Rory Waters three rings were too many and tipped her off that something was wrong. She was about to hang up when a very weak 'hello' caught her attention. "God damn it Jeri! Don't scare me like that!" Rory roared into the phone. (AN: Rory-roared, haha…cheap author joke )

"Shut up," Jeri moaned on the other end of the line. "I'm in pain here." Rory felt her heart stop for a moment before it picked up again.

"What's wrong with you?" Rory snapped trying to sound like her usual self and not show her unease at the moment. The events of the morning's email conversations had her on edge and right now Jeri would be the biggest hit against Rory- if anyone knew she was a source of information for her then Jeri's life might be in danger.

"I have a hang over, so sue me." Rory glanced over at her clock it read about 2:30 in the afternoon which made it approximately 10:30 in the morning in Denver, Colorado where Jeri was currently working.

"Jeri, you bum," Rory said relaxing slightly. The change in her voice seemed to go unnoticed to Jeri however who could be heard rummaging through what sounded like a pile of paperwork. "What are you doing now?" Rory asked taking another drink from her cherry vodka. She shuddered slightly by the burn it caused in her system- despite her lifestyle Rory had never been a drinker which, if anything, made her better at her work.

"Looking for your results what else?" she asked. "Why? What else would you be wanting?"

"What if I just wanted to shoot the shit with you?" Rory asked innocently trying to make this into a play.

"Don't bullshit with me Rory," Jeri snapped back, "there is so much chatter in the Syndication lately I wouldn't be surprised if you were calling to tell me you're going into hiding." There was a pause. "Are you?" Rory snorted indignantly.

"You're dreaming. When have I ever hidden from anything?"

"That's what a lot of people are saying right now and say that you're in Domino cause your hiding."

"Well a lot of people are wrong aren't they? And I'd be a pretty shitty hider if everyone knew where I was."

"True," Jeri agreed then sighed. "I don't have your paperwork with me right now. Plus I just got the new DNA yesterday so I haven't been able to do too much with it."

"Couldn't or didn't?" Rory asked feeling tired all of the sudden.

"A little of both. I did however get both the old fingerprints and DNA but still seem to be missing the new fingerprints."

"You'll have the prints by tomorrow. I know that one of those new HSCT's is flying out of Hong Kong tomorrow," Rory said referring to the new High Speed Civil Transports which traveled at a speed of about Mach 15, "it'll get to you very soon. And I want the results as soon as possible."

"I know I know," Jeri lamented. "You be careful yourself. I've been hearing some interesting things about you lately." Rory's interests perked.

"Oh? Like what?" She could practically see Jeri shrug on the other end.

"Nothing I'm sure you haven't already heard about. The Syndication has a price on your head, ordered in by Fredrick and that…" Rory knew she should listen to the rest of what Jeri was saying but she already knew it. She had know since early in the morning before today that the Syndication would be sending people after her and that Draza of course had it out for her but she had vainly and foolishly hoped that maybe Fredrick wouldn't. But hearing it from Jeri made it very real and she knew she had to get her job done and get out of here as fast as she could. Japan was just too small, she'd go to Switzerland (AN: And Switzerland isn't small? But wait, why the hell am I criticizing myself? Man I must be really tired. Back to the story) for a while- she had a home there that only she knew about that she had bought for situations just like this. She needed to lay low for a while and get her self together. But now she was preparing to do the complete opposite of that and stick her neck on the chopping block so that Anzu would have a few more days to make her decision. She was about to let out a groan at her situation when a name in Jeri's rambling stopped her.

"What? What was that? What did you just say?"

"What? You mean about the kid?" Jeri asked obviously caught of guard.

"Yeah! What did you say?" On the other end of the line Jeri Gross was trying to put two and two together. She had basically been gossiping with Rory, not really believing the news that Rory was actually a Syndication target. She had brought up that the Syndication had had to cover up a murder because they had gotten the wrong girl. "What was her name? Where was she killed?" Rory pressed snapping Jeri back into reality.

"They killed some American missionaries' kid up in Northern Japan, Yamagata or something like that. The authorities are all over cause they think it was a hate crime or something like that. I guess the guy the Syndication hired ran cause they can't find him, not that I blame him but,"

"What was the name?" Rory interrupted.

"Why?" Jeri asked impatient for some inside information.

"Jeri! What was the God Damn Name!" Rory demanded, any hint of pleasantness gone from her voice. Normally people who heard this voice never got a chance to tell anyone about it. People who got her this angry usually died. Jeri sucked in her breath in fear. Rory had never frightened her before. They had always been on the same level before- she had never feared for her life but now wondered if she would survive this phone call.

"The name was Gorden I think. Or Garter. I'm not sure I'm sorry."

"Its not your fault Jeri, I'm sorry. Just be careful. They aren't just coming after me. They're coming after anyone they think might be close to me in anyway."

"You knew this girl or her family?" Jeri asked trying to play down the thrill that she would be considered close to a person as important as Rory in this underground of theirs.

"No, but they thought I did. Take care Jeri and please don't let me down." Rory ended the phone call and stared dejectedly out the sliding glass doors that led to her balcony. They had been looking for a teenage girl named Gardner but had gotten this other girl by mistake. Although Rory wasn't certain she was nearly positive that this girl would have brown hair and blue eyes. 'They're after a girl named Tea Gardner. They don't know her name is Anzu Mazaki here,' Rory thought relived for even that small blessing. But another thought disturbed her. Outside of Jeri who had always helped her ID any kids she found, only one other person knew about Rory Waters' relationship to Anthony and Meredith Gardner and their daughter Tea. And that was Fredrick. He wasn't out just to bring her back or kill her. He was out to hurt her. He knew she was emotionally attached to this case for reasons other then just being determined to close it and he was out to hurt her. Fredrick was out to kill Tea Gardner and now Rory had to make sure that no one find out that Anzu Mazaki was in fact Tea Gardner, at least until Rory cleaned up this mess. She couldn't help but laugh, somewhat insanely, at the thought as she crumpled on her hotel bed. 'Irony,' she thought, 'is such a bitch.'

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Rory hadn't made it two steps out of the hotel when she stopped. Standing in front of her, looking more murderous then ever was Seto Kaiba. Rory couldn't help the smile that lifted on her face though from behind her sunglasses (a totally of five pairs today) her eyes remained still and serious. There was always something so refreshing about seeing the CEO of Kaiba Cooperation. Perhaps it was that his hate for her was of such pure loathing instead of the insane rage she usually caused. She knew why he was here; she was surprised that he hadn't come earlier and that thought kind of intrigued her.

"May I help you?" she asked politely enough. "You're blocking the sidewalk."

"Give it back," he growled.

"What the sidewalk? I thought that was public property and seeing that I'm not even a citizen I would hold no right to it. You might want to take your complaint up with someone else." She made to slide past him expecting him to block her. She was slightly surprised when he managed to grab her arm but didn't let it show. Although older then him by nearly ten years Seto Kaiba still towered over her and he was obviously trying to use that to his advantage. She allowed him to continue to hold her arm but she shifted unnoticeably into a better stance so she could break contact at any possible moment.

"If you give my laptop back to me I might not dislocate your shoulder before I drag you off and sell you to the highest bidder. And believe me I know that there are a fare amount of people out there that would pay any amount of money to be the one to kill you."

"I know that too, no need to remind me," Rory hissed at him letting her composer slip intentionally. He seemed surprised for a moment and Rory looked at him from behind her sunglasses, her gray eyes calculating and cold, ready for anything. In less then a second Kaiba seemed to come to some sort of a decision and thrust her away from him, or at least attempted to, Rory remained firmly in her spot. "If you really want your laptop Seto you can have it. I'm done with it anyways," she reached into her backpack she had slung over one shoulder and extracted the computer.

He snatched it as soon as it came into sight growling, "Don't call me Seto." Rory made a face, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyebrows, her eyes growing somewhat lighter behind her glasses as her mood lifted.

"Fine Kaiba, don't get so touchy." She went to walk around him but he stopped her again.

"What did you see on it?" It wasn't a question, but instead a demand. Rory gave a huff of annoyance, her patience wearing thin.

"What do you think? Thought you would have known me better by now." She shifted her eyes around her as she spoke. She had been standing in one place for too long and she didn't want to be noticed and talking to Seto Kaiba wasn't helping much. Nervously, though she wouldn't admit it, she pulled her ponytail up into a bun hoping to attract less attention for her vibrant color. More then once Fredrick, and a few others, had tried to convince her to change her hair color but Rory would have nothing of it and suddenly she was regretting it. She was so lost in her own thoughts and actions that when Kaiba stuck his face closer her she was actually taken slightly off guard, a discomfort for her because more then ever she needed to stay on her toes.

"What did you see?" he repeated it again as a demand. He was trying to force himself into her space, make her step back or give in but Rory wasn't giving an inch. They were scant inches apart and Rory could clearly smell his cologne.

"Everything," she said truthfully, straight faced. She knew he could see her eyes through her black lenses so she refused to even blink.

"Impossible," he told her not moving an inch either. By this point in time Rory was certain that they were getting some attention so she was ready to end it.

"Believe it," she said smugly, "that program you 'gave' me in Philadelphia is really quite a piece of work." He made to strike her and she ducked away, appearing behind him just as he turned around sharply. "You still have the same temper Seto Kaiba. Be careful, it'll get you into trouble if you are careless." Her glasses were off now and the steel in her eyes bore into him.

"Give that program back now," he practically shouted at her. A few people looked their direction and Seto composed himself. He could no more afford to be seen in public like this than Rory could. Rory slipped her glasses back on before she spoke again.

"Don't worry about the program. I'm the only one who will ever get their hands on it. It's much too dangerous to be trusted to anyone else."

"That was going to revolutionize the world and you destroyed all of it so you could hoard it to yourself and you honestly don't think that you're dangerous."

"I know I'm dangerous but I'm also smart. I think ahead. I knew that the highest bidder on it were certain members of the Syrian government who are very blatantly involved with an Islamic Jihad movement (AN: looks away nervously for bringing up political issues and hopes that no one kills her for her opinions- note opinions, not facts) and would have used the program to access _everything_ in US computers and their allies. I wasn't about to let that happen."

"Sentimental about your old homeland?" Seto sneered mockingly.

"Yes but I'm also just very fond of living and keeping the earth from splitting in two. It didn't occur to you for even a moment in the selfish self-centered mind of yours that it would result in the death of millions if not more. Can you imagine what would have happened if those terrorists got a hold of guarded information in the Pentagon, NASA, the Senate, or even NATO headquarters? Just so you can play with your computers and make some money that you don't even need?" She would have gone on but the look on Kaiba's face stopped her. He had obviously thought about it.

"You were never going to give it to them were you?" she asked unable to keep the surprise out of her voice. Her glasses slipped down, her eyes showing gray and green now.

"You honestly think I'm that stupid?" There was no sarcasm or venom in his voice and Rory had to smile, finally seeing Kaiba in a different light then she ever had before. She wondered if this was how his brother looked at him. He was obviously cold, harsh, even sadistic when determined but he wasn't dumb and he wasn't cruel. An idea popped into Rory's head and she felt a wave of ease sweep over her as she thought that she had at least one problem dealt with as she thought of her own computer in her bag.

"You surprise me Seto Kaiba, you're probably the only person I can say that to," Rory mused before turning to walk away pushing her glasses back into place. She thought she might actually get away too before Kaiba called out again.

"I know what you're doing with Mazaki!" She stopped in her tracks and turned to him. If anyone could see beyond her sunglasses now they would've wished they couldn't. Like with the voice she had used on Jeri, the only people who ever saw her eyes like this were about to die.

"What did you," she started dangerously before Kaiba interrupted.

"I said I know what you are doing with Mazaki," he strode over to her and stopped just out of reach which was probably a smart thing. "I know that you think she's this Gardner girl and you have good reason to. And if anything, I agree with you. From what I've learned it seems that Anzu Mazaki is indeed Tea Gardner- you're just missing scientific evidence but if I know you then you probably are just waiting on it." As he spoke Rory did her best to contain the rage forming in her. She was going to kill Fredrick, figuring that he was the one that let this much information out endangering Anzu's life.

"Why do you think that?" Rory asked in a tight contained voice.

"Look long and hard enough at Mazaki and things start to add up. I just went through every possible reason in my mind why you would want anything to do with her and this hunch led to my answer. Plus," he added smugly, "there are rumor running around that you gave up The Syndication to look for your long lost daughter." Rory couldn't help but laugh at that and how stupid some people could be. "I thought it was ridiculous as well, but then again I am much smarter then most the idiots you associate yourself with." Rory grinned.

"That much at least is true," Rory agreed, "but do yourself and me a favor and stay out of this."

"I have no intention of getting involved until I know it will be the optimum time for me to gain anything over you."

"Smart boy," Rory finished turning away from him again.

"This isn't over you know?" Seto called after her.

"Oh yes, I know" she called back.

"And I'm going to win this," he added. Rory's only answer was to wave at him with four of her fingers absent.

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Anzu saw Rory before the red head saw her. With her conversation with Bakura fresh in her mind Anzu had headed off immediately after school to the museum where she hoped to find Malik. Cutting through the commons at the center of the city, which were surprisingly empty, Anzu had stopped short at the sight of the redhead sitting at one of the umbrella covered tables under the shade of a one of the many tall buildings that surrounded the commons. She hesitated for a moment trying to decide if she should turn back and go the long way but then shook her head in defiance of herself. 'This is stupid;' Anzu thought 'I'm not about to let her dictate my life. She doesn't control me.' Taking a deep breath, both to calm and encourage herself, Anzu made her way across the open space determined to walk straight past without looking at her opponent.

But a surprising thing happened then- nothing. Anzu slowed after she passed by Rory's table slightly surprised that the agent hadn't called out to her, followed her, or even seem to look up and notice her. Now Anzu was not someone to look a gift horse in the mouth but something about this situation put her at uneasy. Every logical muscle in her body was telling her to walk on but the handful of illogical muscles won over and almost against her will she turn back toward the table. She stood just out of arms reach from Rory, with the table between them for security sake, trying to think of something to say. Rory however spoke first.

"You could sit down you know, you're kind of blocking the view," Rory said plainly, looking at her from behind her sunglasses.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses in the shade?" Anzu asked annoyed unable to think of anything else to say. Rory just shrugged and pushed the straw in her seemingly untouched drink around with her finger. Anzu watched her perform this hypnotic action for a moment or more think of how thirsty she was after her walk in the surprisingly hot afternoon sun.

"Thirsty?" Rory asked snapping Anzu out of her faze. "I thought I'd try a virgin daiquiri seeing as it's only the afternoon but it just isn't catching me. I'm waiting for the waitress to come so I can get different one." Rory pushed it across the table toward Anzu with her fingertip by the stem of the glass. Anzu struggled with herself for a moment before finally sitting down but not touching the drink yet.

"You didn't put any knock out drugs in here did you?" Anzu asked suspiciously eyeing the glass. Rory smirked but did not laugh which slightly unnerved Anzu for some reason.

"I told you before, I don't get paid for damaged goods. Besides," Rory said raising her hand and sweeping it across the commons, "why would I ever attempt to kidnap you in such a public place?"

"Cause you're sadistic and you obviously love a challenge."

"That, unfortunately is true," Rory agreed with a smirk, "except for the sadistic thing. I like to think of myself more as selectively cruel."

"And what if its time release and I pass out when I get home and you come and take me there," Anzu countered in one breath not taking her blue eyes off of Rory for a moment as she said this. In return Rory gave Anzu a look that obviously said that she thought her to be crazy.

"You've been watching too much of that CSI crap from America," Rory concluded and Anzu blushed too embarrassed to admit it. (AN: not a fan of CSI but that's just me and its nothing against the show for those of you who like it) "Look," Rory continued eager to get away from Anzu, "if you're so worried I'll take a taste of it for you." And with that Rory stood from her chair, took the straw in her fingers and sucked in about an eighth of the glass. "See?" Rory said sitting back down. Sighing in defeat Anzu took the glass in her hands and took a sip. From behind her glasses Rory's eyes flashed but Anzu didn't see it. "How you holding up anyway?" Rory asked after Anzu had taken a long drink.

"You care?" Anzu half snapped sarcastically and genuinely questioned.

"Of course, I'm not the cold heartless bitch you have me pegged as Anzu. Oh and by the way your friends are here," Rory said pointing behind Anzu. Almost afraid to look Anzu peeked behind her and saw Yugi walking quickly to keep up with Honda and Jonouchi as they strode purposely toward Rory's table. Turning back to face Rory Anzu smiled as she caught Rory rolling her eyes exaggeratedly so that her eyebrows went with them. By that point Jou and the others had arrived. Jou looked positively murderous and Honda wasn't far from it. The only thing that held Yugi back, it seemed to Anzu, was that his nature was so innocent and he already knew pretty much everything that was going on between Anzu and Rory.

"Hey all, long time no see," Rory said pleasantly enough and Anzu took a sip of her drink to keep from laughing.

"Not long enough," Jou practically growled. Rory just shrugged indifferently before Jou continued. "What are you doing here with Anzu?"

"Nothing, she approached me," Rory said poignantly. Honda look spectacle.

"I think the chances of that happening were slim to none." Rory shrugged again.

"Its ok guys," Anzu finally spoke up, "I did just kind of come upon on her."

"That's not an excuse. This woman is insane Anzu, you told us that yourself," Jou pressed raising his voice slightly.

"Let it be Jou. If Anzu doesn't have a problem with it then we shouldn't." Yugi finally said as Anzu shot him a grateful look.

"But," Jou protested before being caught off by Anzu.

"Really, Jonouchi. It's ok," Anzu tried to assure him and herself at the same time.

"Still Anzu," Honda spoke, "I know I'd feel better if you weren't hanging out with," he seemed to struggle with words, "her." He finished lamely and Rory looked as if she was struggling with herself- trying to decide if she should make a snide remark or not.

"Well as fun as this has been," Rory stood, picked up her bag, and pulled her wallet out of her pock throwing some money on the table, "I must be going." The truth was that she was nervous to be seen in public like this for this long with Anzu. She made to walk off but Anzu's blonde headed friend spoke up again.

"Hang on a sec! You aren't just walking away."

"What?" Rory said as innocently as possible pushing her sunglasses up where they connected with another pair already on top of her head. "Did I not pay enough?"

"I want to know what you are all about and why you're messing with Anzu."

"Jou," Anzu said in a tired voice.

"No, just hang on a sec Anzu. I want to have a serious talk with this girl. You know man to bitch."

"Jou!" Anzu shouted standing so quickly that the table rattled with the motion. Rory looked at it intently for a moment before bringing her focus back on Jonouchi. The last thing she wanted was a scene in such a public place with the knowledge that there could be assassins around looking for her and Anzu. The worst possible thing was to make a scene and give them a packaged deal.

"I don't' have time for this," she muttered turning her back and preparing to walk away. Jonouchi moved quickly to block her and Rory helped him move past her face first into a brick wall. What she wasn't expecting was for the boy to recover so quickly from her trip/throw and use the wall to ricochet back at her throwing his fist toward her at the same time. She was so surprised by this that Rory barely managed to step back to avoid the punch and she actually felt it brush the tip of her nose.

"I said I wanted to talk," Jou repeated still looking ready in fighting stance. Like Seto Kaiba he tried to use his height over her, though he wasn't as tall as Kaiba, it was still an understandable tactic. Rory was still surprised that he had come that close to hitting her and she looked at him in a different light.

"Next time, don't tilt so much after you push off the wall. Just try to go straight so that if you needed to or wanted to you could get another hit in quickly," Rory advised. Anzu, Honda, Yugi, and Jou all looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Wha?" Jou barely managed.

"And it looks like you've been using your knuckles a little too much when you punch, you have so many calluses built up on them. Trying using your fist a bit higher on your hand. It hurts a hell of a lot more then you would think and the bones up their, God help me if I remember what they are called, don't break at easily. But don't forget about your knuckles either- they come as a nasty shock if you aren't expecting it."

Nobody moved or spoke for a silent moment or two while Rory looked like she was contemplating something very serious. She took a step back tilting her head at one angle and then another. Finally she seemed to come to a decision and dropped her bag off her shoulder the ground. "Hit me." Jou blinked rapidly in confusion.

"Excuse me?"

"I said hit me, or at least try to," she added. Jou bristled.

"Don't tempt me," Jou said his temper starting to get the better of him. From behind him Anzu said his name in a pleading manner.

"If you don't hit me I'm going to hit you," Rory goaded, hands tucked in her jean pockets. Jou's eyebrow twitched.

"I don't hit girls," he finally said.

"You didn't seem to mind that a minute ago."

"I was never going to actually hit you," Joun said in a somewhat cocky manner. Rory smiled knowing that the best way to get to this boy was to attack his pride.

"Confident," Rory started then slipped into a lower voice, "but of course I can understand why you wouldn't want to hit a girl. You just don't want people to see me throw you across the pavement again. I understand, I was holding back that night. I would be scared too." The moment the final words left her mouth Rory was already ducking to the left, avoiding the punch Jou had thrown at her. She stepped back from him ready as his next punch came and she twisted to avoid it, having her feet swept out from under her at the same time. 'This kid is good,' Rory admitted in her mind as she landed on the ground, springing back up inhumanely fast. This obviously caught Jou off guard because as she was moving back up her right leg swung and caught him just below the rib cage and pushing into the wall. Had she been serious Rory would have gone to break the boys ribs with her kick but she wasn't out to kill. This was just entertainment for her and she hadn't had a good spar in a long time.

From behind her Rory could hear the other three, Anzu and the smaller boy were trying to hold back the other one. What was his name? Some sort of car; like Toyota or Ford. As she thought Jou had come back at her and much to Rory's amusement there was a glint of play in his eyes as well. As if he understood that she wasn't taking this serious. What she didn't know that Jou was intending to make it serious. Rory didn't know where it came from but somehow Jou had managed to grab a packet of ketchup from the container off the table and tried to use it to blind her. Or at least that's what Rory thought. The condiment had been sent at her eyes but that was only so that Jou could actually direct her where he wanted her to be and his well-placed punch, coming up from under and hitting her right at the molars.

Rory was surprised and stepped back after he hit her. It wasn't that Rory didn't get hit in fights; it was just that it didn't happen very often or as effectively as Jou's hit had been. "Damn kid! Who the hell trained you? You are a natural!" Rory exclaimed stepping back toward him eager for more and throwing a low jab at him. Jou blocked but a bit more sluggishly then before.

"I trained myself," he growled trying to hit her again. Rory moved easily away from each attempt.

"Impressive," Rory mused and then sent him sprawling to the ground. He couldn't quite stop his head from spinning and he watched her dizzyingly as she bent over him. "Want a job?" she asked. Jou didn't get a chance to answer because Rory was yanked back from over him which seemed to surprise her. In her mind she chided herself for forgetting about the other boy who currently had her bound to him, her arms trapped to her sides. 'Oh God what is his name?' Rory wondered to herself watching the blonde struggling off the ground. 'Toyota, Chevy, Ford,' she continued to think quickly, ' I swear it was a brand of car. Maybe it was a type. Punch Buggy? No, think, Station wagon, Mustang, Civic…there! She had it!'

"Honda!" she said loud enough for him to hear her.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Nothing, I just remembered what your name was," Rory twisted from his hold and then using the now standing Jou for help managed to get enough height to kick both of them down. Honda got up quicker then the unfortunate Jou who technically had been kicked twice. Rory used Honda's momentum as he charged her and by his grabbing the openings of his jacket rolled back and flipped him successfully over her and next to Jou. Rory stood quickly back up, enjoying the adrenaline rush coursing through her. "You guys are good. I'm serious about the job thing too."

"Knock it off Rory," Anzu scolded coming over with Yugi to check her friends.

"What?" Rory asked honestly surprised. "We were just having fun. You know like a sparring match or something." Rory said this all seriously but with a bite of a light in her voice that Anzu hadn't heard before. She was taken aback by it.

"What if they got hurt?" Anzu accused and before Rory could answer Jou did.

"We're fine Anzu," Jou said standing. He looked conflicted, half way between anger and exhilaration.

"Speak for yourself," Honda mumbled finally standing up. The corners of Rory's mouth twitched.

"Come on! You have to admit that was fun!" Rory said grinning. Honda looked doubtful and Jou still looked conflicted.

"She's right about the knuckle thing though," Jou finally admitted, "I do hit with them way to much." Yugi blanched at the comment.

"Jou!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

"You are hopeless man," Honda said looking at him if he were crazy.

"See?" Rory piped in looking devilish.

"You keep out of this!" Honda yelled. Anzu standing slightly to Rory's left side near the building frowned disapprovingly at the whole situation. Rory glanced over at her and smiled.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"You, all of you," she said waving her hand to include Jou and Honda, "are all insane."

"Hey!" Jou protested. "Don't group me with her!" He pointed an accusing finger at Rory who was still staring at Anzu or so it seemed.

"And don't group me with him," Honda added knocking Jou in the back of the head.

"What do you mean by that?" Jou fumed turning on his best friend.

"Just that I'm not insane," Honda said slowly and calmly as if explaining it to a three year old.

"You're on thin ice Honda," Jou warned.

"All I'm saying," Honda started before Rory interrupted him.

"Shut up," she said forcefully in a whisper. She was now fully turned toward Anzu but her eyes were sweeping across the area rapidly.

"What?" Yugi asked. Rory just repeated her command a little louder this time. "Shut up."

"Hey! Don't tell us to," Honda started again but Rory cut him off once more one.

"I said," but she didn't finish because a second later she had thrown herself full force at Anzu, pinning her to the wall, and covering her completely.

"Rory!" Anzu yelled in surprise. "What are you…" but she finished with a scream as the pavement that she had been standing on exploded under a barrages of gunshots. Yugi, Jou, and Honda all seemed frozen in fear until in a brief moment that the bullets stopped Rory turned her head from Anzu and yell, "Move you idiots!"

That seemed to snap them out of their trance and jumped toward the cover of the forgotten table which wasn't a good idea because a moment before they reached it the gunman did. In an explosion of glass Jou made a decision and grabbed Yugi and Honda by their collars and, following Rory's example flattened them against the wall. The angle of the building didn't allow the gunman to fire directly down on Rory and the four friends. There was another moment when the gunfire stopped and Rory looking enraged separated herself from the trembling Anzu and stared up at the roof of the building.

"I swear to God if that's you Miguel you'd be better off killing yourself now!" There was no answer except for more shots. People around the commons had already scattered or hidden and Rory was sure that it would only be a matter of minutes before the police came. Despite the fact that he had used a silencer it was very obvious to anyone what was happening. She only had a few minutes at most to act. Still under the safety of the building Rory pulled on of her pairs of sunglasses off her head and shoved them over her eyes. She then lifted the back of her shirt and pulled a small gun from a holster strapped to her lower back. Next to it was what looked like, to Anzu at least, an extension of the gun which Rory also pulled out and snapped onto her gun. Anzu watched this all with wide frighten eyes. She had seen Rory like this when she had come upon the fight between Bakura and Malik only know she looked worse; she looked ready to kill.

As if sensing Anzu's eyes on her Rory turned her attention back to her before loading one magazine of ammunition and sticking another in her belt. "Don't move," Rory commanded simply. Anzu didn't respond, too in shock and scared to do anything. Then in a blink of an eye Rory was gone, past Anzu and ducking into the ally between the building Anzu and the others were pressed against and its neighbor. Rory's mind was focused, controlled adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was dimly aware that Anzu's two friends, Honda and Jou, were following her but she pushed it from her mind as her eyes swept the new area she was in. Two more shot rang out as Rory ran and jumped, grabbing the bottom rung of rusting fire escape whose ladder no longer reached the ground. She pulled her self up easily and began ascending to the roof mindful of the more dangerous rust spots while shots continued to shower down on her but they were becoming erratic and random and Rory knew that Miguel was getting nervous which was good for her.

Meanwhile both Jou and Honda had attempted to follow Rory up the stairs in the same manner she had. However, in what would have been comical in any other situation, both boys jump for the ladder and missed by a good foot and continued to fall on top of one another into a pile of trashcans. Without a moment's thought or hesitation they were up again in a flash- Honda giving Jou a boost up and then was pulled up himself by Jou. By the time the two started up the ladder Rory was already on the roof. She immediately flattened herself to the ground as she reached the top and could feel bullets sail over her, one brushing her scalp. From the floor of the roof Rory sent off two shots at the assassin, one hitting him squarely in the bulletproof vest Rory knew he wore. Using the moment of pain her shot had cause Rory stood and shot again, this time the bullet would have logged itself in the assassin's right shoulder but he had already turned and starting running. The Mexican mercenary ran to the edge of the roof and then jumped the short distance to the next roof over and ran for the next, Rory in hot pursuit.

Jou and Honda had made it to the roof just in time to watch Rory jump to the next roof, ducting behind a heater as her target turned to fire on her once more from the next building over. Now Rory wasn't a bad shot by any means, her aim natural and trained into perfection, she could kill a person with a shot to the leg at a fair distance by hitting their main artery. But Rory needed Miguel alive to interrogate so her shots need to be perfect in that they debilitated but did not kill, otherwise the man would have had a bullet in his head instead of his protected chest. Before returning to her chase Rory exposed herself openly to Miguel to catch him off guard, which worked, and Rory shot off his right thumb. The man screamed nearly dropping his weapon from the pain and shock before running again jumping for a fourth roof. "You aren't getting away that easily Miguel!" Rory called following him again, gaining ground as she sprinted. Jou and Honda watched this all with a mix of horror awe at the edge of the first build.

"Come on. Lets go," Jou said making a decision. He took a few steps back and one deep breath before jumping and landing with room to spare on the next roof. They lost sight of Rory when she jumped onto a lower fourth roof. There were more gunshots and yells in a mix of Spanish and English. There was one final yell in English that even Jou and Honda recognized-"No!" before there was silence. By that point Jou and Honda had made it to the edge of the third roof that had a good four-foot drop to the building attached to it. There they saw Rory standing frozen at the ledge of the fourth roof staring down at the ground below, blood running from some injury on her right side. Jumping carefully down they joined her and cringed at the mangled sight of the assassin's body.

"Stupid coward," Rory muttered to herself in English before repeating it in Japanese and continuing on. (AN: I have a lot of these this chapter don't I? Any way I just thought I'd specify that unless otherwise stated Rory speaks Japanese to Anzu and the others but English to everyone else unless stated otherwise.) Dumb bastard thought it was better to kill himself than face me. Well I better go check him for…" but she didn't finish. Rory looked as if she had just been struck with an epiphany. "Draza," she whispered her words being caught by the wind whipping at the three. She turned her head sharply around in the direction they had just come, as if seeing something the other two couldn't. Both Jou and Honda looked ready to ask her something but she answered her question before they even asked it. "Anzu," she whispered even softer this time. Neither boy had time to question her because she had turned suddenly again and kicked at a poll, assumingly a drainage pipe, running on the side of the building. In just that one kick half of the metal bands securing it to the wall snapped off. Another kick sent nearly the rest off. Before they could clearly register what she was doing Rory had pulled off the black leather belt she had been wearing and slipped it through the new space between the wall and pipe. She was over the edge in a heartbeat, not seeming to care that only about ¾ of her way was clear. Rory slid the four stories she had cleared and then jumped the remaining. Jou and Honda watched this all in wonder. She seemed to have landed all right for a moment before collapsing on her injured right side.

She struggled to stand for a moment while Honda and Jonouchi watched from above. When she finally had her feet securely under her Rory immediately took off in the direction she had just come from and that's when it dawned on the two- she was heading back to Anzu. "Let's go," Jou yelled at Honda who needed no encouragement as they took off back over the roofs. Meanwhile Rory had arrived just in time to where Yami was trying to comfort the still trembling Anzu. The spirit sensed the trouble before Rory had gotten to them and turned covering, Anzu from the new danger and probably would have been shot through the back if Rory hadn't tackled the new attacker. As Rory went tumbling past Yami turned and watched the scene. The assassin, another man but of a different ethnicity this time, landed on top of Rory, flashed a knife briefly, but was only in control for a moment before she managed to kick him up, off and over her. She was on him in a breath striking him so hard across the face Yami was certain he heard bones crack, and they weren't Rory's. Rory didn't rest however and sat up immediately turned toward the still deserted commons and shot twice.

A middle aged woman of the same ethnicity as the currently unconscious man beneath Rory fell apparently dead to the ground as the shot she prepared to fire went off blindly. Iced gray eyes flamed as Rory stood and pulled the knife the surviving man had stuck into her thigh before walking over to the lone woman. She stood over the body for a moment, silent, than turned her over with her foot. Amazingly alive the woman spit words out in a language that Yami had never heard before. Rory returned a few words in the same language while the dieing woman laughed insanely before chocking a few moments and then lying still forever. Rory then turned back toward Yami and Anzu who were both watching wide-eyed as she walked to the last living assassin. Yami could feel Anzu tremble in his hold, he wanted to shield her from all of this, take her away but neither seemed able to move from the spot they were rooted in. Dimly he heard the clatter of the fire escape and saw Jou and Honda emerge from the ally they had first chased Rory down. Rory, a few feet away, seemed oblivious to all of this.

The man was awake now trying to stand, barely able to speak with his broken jaw. He pulled a gun and without missing a beat Rory kicked it away and knocked him down again with the same kick. She spoke harshly in the same language she had before, still stalking steadily toward him The dark haired, light skinned man, was stumbling backward all the while spitting out streams of words not remotely close to anything any of the four friends had heard before but the exchange was obvious. Rory was furious, the man was scared but defiant and even from the distance the four stood from Rory it was obvious what she was thinking.

The four were right on about Rory's current state of mind. She was furious and was fighting to channel it rationally. She had never expected Draza to act so brazenly, sending three of the highest paid and therefore best assassins after her in one massive attack. She didn't even think he had those kinds of connections. Rory had left the man alive for a reason, she needed answers and if anyone could give them to her Draza's right hand man Mohammed could tell her. She had made the mistake of practically shattering his jaw so his words were jumbled and barely understandable.

"Tell me where Draza is," Rory order in Albanian standing over him. He merely swore at her viciously but Rory had heard worse. She brought her gun out again and asked him again, "where is Draza?" He remain silent and Rory shot once, one bullet imbedding itself in the assassin's shoulder. Amazingly Mohammed barely even cried out but Rory knew he could take worse having been trained to the equivalent of an America Green Beret. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll leave you alive," Rory tried again.

"Burn in hell," Mohammed whispered in his native language, "kill me then. It doesn't matter more will come. Fredrick and Draza will see that you suffer for all you have done."

"Fredrick?" Rory repeated in English unconsciously, Anzu and the others understanding the English name.

"Yes, still think he cares about you little girl?" Mohammed taunted. Rory's face grew dark and she thrust the man's own knife back into him at the hip. He only grimaced slightly before Rory knelled down to his level, gripping the hilt of the blade and turning it just so causing the Serbian to sweat.

"I had training just like you Mohammed so you know that when I go up just so," she moved the knife in a demonstration as Mohammed cried out so Rory stopped from her destination, "that I'll be splitting your stomach wide open and nothing can save you then. You've done it to people before but do you really know how painful it is to die by being poisoned from the inside? Do you want to know?" Rory's face was emotionless as she said this and for the first time Mohammed actually looked scared.

"You wouldn't," he stated.

"Try me." Mohammed didn't want to chance it.

"Throw the knife away and I'll speak," he negotiated. As if in a warning Rory pressed the blade deeper before pulling it out and tossing it out of reach. She straightened, "Now talk." He spoke swiftly in Albanian spilling out in information that Rory already knew about her supposed betrayal to Fredrick and the Syndication and Draza taking advantage of Rory's new vulnerability.

"I already knew all of that," Rory growled knowing her time was running short, "tell me where Draza is and when he's planning to attack."

"I know nothing else," he said convincingly but Rory knew better. She shot one of her last bullets and it neatly nicked off his right thumb before burying into the pavement. The man's nerves, already on fire from Rory's earlier torturer, exploded and he finally cried out.

"I'll make it ten times worse in about two seconds if you don't tell me what I want to know." He didn't move an inch though his face was red and sweating. Rory ducked down to his level again. "You ever heard the rumor about the time I shot that Drug Lord in Brazil at just the right angle in the head," she angled the gun at his temple, "that he stayed alive for twelve hours while the bullet burned his mind from the inside out. Do you want to see if it's true?" The man was shaking so badly now that he finally caved.

"I'll tell! I'll tell! Draza isn't working alone. Fredrick hired him to take you alive and to kill," he stared at Anzu who gave a tiny gasp though unable to understand him before Yami shielded her from his sight, " her. He wants us to hurt you. He says he knows you better then you know yourself. He says he'll hurt you in everyway he can think."

"Why?" Rory asked before she realized it. "Not just because of the DC deal?" Mohammed was silent " When?" was the last thing Rory asked her face dark and seized in some unknown emotion.

"From now until the day you and the bitch die," Mohammed wheezed before starting to laugh madly. Rory stood for the final time, eyes flashing to Anzu briefly, and looked down at the dieing mad man.

"Give Fredrick a final message for me," Rory said, "I know that he's listening to every word we say." The man grimaced lifting his uninjured arm and flipped open his jacket to reveal a listening device similar to the one Kaiba used at Battle City. "This is far from over," Rory said clearly in English before reaching down and ripping the electronic from his jacket and throwing it to the ground not wanting to risk the police finding any way to track where Mohammed came from- this was way over the local police's heads. Rory turned to walk away it seemed but stopped flipping the phone she had stuck in her pocket open and dialed quickly while police sirens screamed in the distance. She spoke quietly and rapidly in Japanese to someone before hanging up. She looked back at Mohammed again and turned around to face him. When she reached him she whispered, " you don't deserve to live." And then without blinking, pulled out her gun, and shot point blank between Mohammed's eyes. Anzu cried out and Yami, who realized a moment to late what was about to happen, attempted to block it from her unsuccessfully. Jou went rigid and Honda looked faint. Rory just straighten as if nothing had happened and pulled a pair of sunglasses from her back pocket, amazingly the only pair that survived everything, and slipped them on. Stepping forward she collected her bag and pulled something out and placed it on the ground where it started to beep steadily. She then turned and started to walk past the four who were frozen next to the wall stopping at the shattered glass table shifting through the glass with her shoe and then turned to acknowledge them.

"There was an industrial accident here," she said nonchalantly, "you might want to go home before the police get here." She moved to walk away again, limping slightly.

"Hold on a moment!" Yami roared and attempted to follow but didn't get far, Anzu clinging to him desperately.

"No, don't," she pleaded, "lets just go home." Yami blinked unsure.

"You better get her out of here," Rory counseled, "she should be fine for now but take care of her."

"What's that supposed to mean 'she'll be fine for now'?" Honda asked.

"I'm sorry this wasn't supposed to happen," and Rory actually sounded remorseful, "I really can't believe this has happened. It shouldn't have happened. It won't happen ever again. I won't let it happen again. Anzu," the brunette looked up, "I'm so sorry. Please take care."

"Rory," Anzu called when the red head started to walk away again, "what about you. Are you going to be alright?" Rory smiled.

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"But," Anzu protested but Rory shook her head.

"Get her out of here," Rory told the three boys and then walked off again.

"Rory!" Anzu cried out moving around Yami for a better view but Rory was already gone.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

At Yugi's house after convincing Yugi's grandfather they were fine the four had just settled down in the den when the door burst open again. All four jumped as a slightly frantic looking Ryo burst in. He looked them over once and seemed slightly crestfallen. "I knew you lot had something to do with what happened in the commons! But how the hell did a duel monster hologram put a crater that size in the sidewalk?" The four just stared at him dumb struck.

"Ah what?" Jou finally managed. Ryo made a noise that sounded somewhat like a halfhearted groan of frustration before stepping through the den and turned on the television. Anzu watched him all that while wondering if he remember their, well her and Bakura's conversation earlier today. He didn't give any indication but instead stepped back to give them a view of the channel he had settled on. The four crowed around to watch a news special at the place they had been gathered at less than a half an hour earlier- or at least what was left of it. Part of the build that Rory had been originally sitting in front and about twenty feet around if was gone in what had apparently been a fiery explosion. The news report was interviewing the Domino Police Chief who was explaining that this wasn't a terrorist attack but that construction workers had not turned off the correct gas lines. The reporter went on to ask if the body found down the block had anything to do with the explosion which the officer quickly said no to. Ryo muted it after that.

"Industrial accident my ass," Honda said repeating Rory's words, "she planted that bomb." Jou glared at him while Ryo gaped in surprise.

"You're a really idiot Honda," Jou muttered.

"She? She planted what?" Ryo questioned looking around for an answer. Anzu mumbled something into her hands pressed against her face falling back on the couch. Yugi looked over at her sympathy while Ryo looked on curiously.

"Somebody want to tell me what's going on?" Ryo pressed.

"I'm going to need some serious counseling after today," Anzu said after she pulled her hand away from her face and stared accusingly at the ceiling.

"We had a run in with a friend of Anzu's this afternoon that didn't go to well," Yugi said with some difficulty trying to find the right words.

"Anzu's friend! Ha! Yeah right, close personal psycho is more like it," Jou said with a snort.

"Don't talk like that Jou," Anzu argued weakly, "she's right- I was the one that approached her. What happened today wasn't her fault."

"You don't give that girl enough credit Anzu. You think that it really was just a chance meeting today?"

"I've got to agree with him there Anzu," Honda chipped in while Yugi looked undecided and Ryo looked confused.

"Um sorry but you keep saying 'she'. Who is this she?" He waited for an answer and when he didn't get one he took a guess. "Is that the one that helped us out the other day Anzu?" As soon as he asked that he regretted it seeing Anzu physically stiffen at his words. Obviously he wasn't supposed to tell the others about it. Honda look curious.

"You've met this Rory person Ryo?" Ryo wrestled with the answer.

"The American? Yeah, that day she returned Yugi's deck," he said hoping the other three would believe him.

"No you said helped us," Jou joined in looking at Ryo as if he had just said he had just told them he had the Hope Diamond, "what do you mean?"

"When I said us I meant Yugi," he said jerking his head to the silent youth while he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, "I just said us cause we were all there last week." Jou was about to protest when Anzu interjected.

"Its ok Ryo," she said still staring at the ceiling. "Ryo has met Rory because the other day when we ran into Malik who it seemed wanted to pick a fight with Ryo but Rory came and broke it up. Simple huh?"

"Ahh," Jou mused and Anzu smiled confidently at the ceiling.

"Actually I've run into Rory quite a few times that you guys don't know about and as much as you may dislike her you can't say that she didn't save our lives today. And don't try to argue with me that if she wasn't there then it wouldn't have happen," Anzu cut him off sensing his want to interrupt, "for all we know it could have happened with or without her and she saved all of our lives. She saved the lives of four people she barely even knew at her own physical cost. But still…" Anzu trailed off and no one moved until she was ready to speak again, eyes still trained on the ceiling. "Still," Anzu said lifting her hand over her and held out three fingers, "she did kill three people to save all of our lives. But as much as the chills me to the bone and I will never ever forget this I still can't really think of her in a bad light. Rory isn't a bad person, just caught in a bad life, a bad situation. Kinda like me." Anzu could hear Yugi give a heavy sigh next to her and she closed her own eyes in contemplation.

"We've seen worse," Anzu continued, "but at the same time I really don't think I've ever seen someone die. But I never really thought about it before, I never really thought that for all the bad people we wish weren't here or anything like that there is always someone that has to do the dirty work. We've just been lucky not to witness the act so far in our lives. Who knows how many people could have died today if Rory hadn't acted." There was silence before Yugi finally spoke.

"But Anzu…"

"Believe me I am in no way, shape or form justifying what she did today. But she did it still and I'm not sure we can blame her for that. And right now she is wandering around Domino hurt, maybe even dieing and I feel guilty because I didn't thank her for saving my life. This will be a day I never forget as much as I would like to wipe it from my memory but at the same time I don't think that dwelling on the fact that we saw Rory do this is a smart idea. If anything we need to move on and think about what happens next cause there is nothing we can do about the deaths now, just be ready in the future."

"That doesn't sound like you Anzu," Jou said studying her still form.

"You don't worry about her doing the same to us or more importantly you Anzu?" Honda asked speaking to her in a big brother type manner. Anzu shook her head finally looking away from the ceiling.

"Two weeks ago when I first met Rory she made me nervous but didn't scare me and every time I've seen her since I've never feared her. If anything, I always feel safe with her around." The others processed this while Anzu sat up straight. "I have to get going in a little bit, I have a rehearsal tonight I can't miss." Everyone stared at her in shock.

"You're going to just go dance after this?" Jou said in one quick breath.

"What do you suggest?" Anzu countered.

"Counseling- lots and lots of counseling," he told her, "and maybe even a little trip to the police station." Anzu and Yugi's eyes grew as wide as saucers at this both thinking the same thing- what if someone connected the dots about the possible connection between Anzu and Tea Gardner?

"No!" the shouted in unison and everyone in the room looked at them in surprise.

"We don't want people to know we have any involvement in this," Yugi said uncharacteristically and everyone, even Anzu, looked at him in surprise.

"I agree," Anzu breathed after a moment. She then stood and smoothed her skirt. "I have to get going, I need to run an errand before I head to dance." Jonouchi looked ready to protest her moment but seemed to think better of it and shut his mouth.

"See you Anzu," Ryo said weakly as she left the room. The door shut soundlessly behind her in and less then a minute afterwards both Jou Honda turned to look at Ryo, and more importantly Yugi.

"Alright," Jou said sounding deadly serious, "you two need to tell us what's going on."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Somewhere in one of the darker parts of Domino Rory entered a would-be bar, bleeding and aggravated. Only three other people were in the shady establishment, save the girl behind the bar who didn't look a day over fifteen and no one seemed to notice Rory's arrival as she limped in. Moving over to the worker Rory glared at the mirror behind the bar that showed her grim image but also hid another woman Rory was sure was watching her. Rory looked at the bartender who seemed reluctant to look in her eyes and felt herself soften a little- she was just a girl really and any sane person, growing or grown, would be nervous a of person looking like Rory did at the time. Feeling exhaustion getting the better of her Rory leaned heavily on the bar, the girl eyeing her warily before reluctantly moving over to the increasingly paling Rory.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a polite manner that didn't fit the setting.

"I need to see the owner," Rory mumbled feeling her stomach pitch- a bad sign.

"He's not here," the girl said quickly, obviously trained.

"Listen, don't bull shit me," Rory advised, "I know that _she_ is here. And I need to talk to her right now. Just tell her that an old blue nose is here to see her." The girl looked more then a little taken a back but nodded and turned and walked to a door at the end of the room and disappeared on the other side. Rory watched her go and then with a suppressed groan lay her head on the cool bar top, collapsing on a barstool. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the other three patrons trying to study her discreetly. Rory grimaced and straightened herself to glare at the person, too tired to try and act nonchalant. The person tried to hold Rory's gaze before shifting uncomfortably and looking away. Rory barely noticed however because straightening so suddenly had caused her vision to swirl and she wondered what she had hurt so badly that it was affecting her so adversely. When her vision cleared Rory was faced with a stern looking older woman somewhere just past the 60's mark, but looked as fit as Rory and smelled heavily of rum and gun powder. The two smells mixed in Rory's nose and sent her senses swimming again. Waiting for her head to clear Rory could see the woman getting annoyed.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Well what?" Rory responded wondering what this woman could possibly have to ask her.

"You said you were a blue nose- I want to see your card," the older woman demanded in heavily accented English. Rory's mind spun placing the term 'blue nose' and the accent at the same time. It took a moment but then came back to her very clearly.

"You actually think I'm a blue nose?" Rory asked with a snort looking at the increasingly pissed off woman. "I just knew that would get you from behind your two way mirror."

"Keep your voice down," the bar owner hissed and Rory was very tempted to shout 'two way mirror' but held her tongue instead.

"Look Madam Sidorov, you and I both know that I am not a blue nose. I simply used that to get you to come talk to me." The bar owner glared down at the slumped Rory.

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

"A person in need of your services."

"If you wanted alcohol you could have asked the bar tender," the woman snapped preparing to leave.

"Don't you dare walk away," Rory hissed in Russian and the woman stopped dead. "I know that you are here as an extension of the current KGB, oh and I know that the Soviet one is 'dead' so don't fuck with me, as a representative to the Yakuza so I know that you can help me right now." There was a moment's pause and Rory couldn't help the cocky grin on her face that spread when she thought of what she would say next. "I also know that both the US and Russian governments are looking for you so unless you want me to go have a talk with those two embassies then you will help me." There was more silence and the woman seemed ready to strike her but restrained herself and motioned for Rory to follow her. The younger girl who had initially talked to Rory when she entered was watching with wide dark eyes- a mix of apprehension and admiration and Rory weakly grinned at her in response. A moment later Rory had followed the former Soviet spy out of the sight of the rest of the bar into the secret observation room behind the mirror. Rory gave a sigh of relief, feeling that she might be safe enough for the moment before collapsing on the floor in a bloody heap.

(AN: the blue nose is an…err, I don't want to say selective, but instead a small group of military personal- all branches- who served in the artic circle during a certain period of the cold war. When my family was living in Alaska my father was a part of that group and still is. There isn't much too it anymore expect bragging rights-or so my father says but after pressing him for a while I got some pretty interesting stories out of him and decided that I needed to use it at some point in this story, that's all)

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Ok! Chapter 11! More hopefully out soon cause I want to finish this story and really focus on 'You Wish'. Hopefully the next chapter will be out Monday! BTW, what did you guys think of Rory in this chapter? The character I originally envisioned is really starting to come out and I think you can all see the effect Anzu has on her to pacify her. Things will start moving a lot quicker now because Rory is really against the clock and therefore will be pressing Anzu as well. What will Anzu's final choice be? Will she confront her past as Tea Gardner? Is she actually Tea Gardner? And will she choose Yami, Malik, or neither? Current voting suggests Yami but that can change- so let me know! Aka-Review!

Have a great 4th of July for all my American readers! (Wouldn't that be cool if I had internationally readers?) And I hope that everyone else is enjoying summer! Till next time, Ja!

Star


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